•<-^€ 


mmsTijmmiwEciroN 


y^^s. 


k:u,r^mfx 


MAPD 


"^  ^HO  LOVES 


JESUS. 
JESVs. 


PaR;s 


1.  Every  member  is  obliged  to  have 
both  family  name  and  Christian  name 
recorded*  {a)  in  a  special  register  in  any 
one  of  the  convents  of  the  Fathers  of 
the  Congregation  of  the  Blessed  Sacra- 
ment, (b)  or  in  one  of  the  local  centres 
affiliated  to  the  Archconfraternity. 

*Be  careful  not  to  omit  the  Christian  name. 
It  is  required,  in  order  that  the  member  may 
gain  the  Indulgences. 

To  be  inscribed  in  the  Archconfraternity  of 
the  Blessed  Sacrament,  in  the  United  States, 
apply  to  the  Fathers  of  the  Blessed  Sacrament, 
185  East  76th  Street,  Xew  York  City. 

2.  Members  must  pledge  themselves 
to  make,  once  a  month,  one  continuous 
hour  of  adoration  before  the  Blessed 
Sacrament,  either  exposed  or  in  the 
tabernacle.  They  are  perfectly  free  with 
regard  to  the  choice  of  the  day,  hour, 
and  church.  They  may,  if  they  choose, 
change  these  every  month. 

3.  The  Archconfraternity  of  the 
Blessed  Sacrament  furthermore  imposes 
on  its  members  one  Commuxiox  every 
MONTH,  on  the  day  chosen  for  their  hour 
of  adoration.  This  Communion  is,  in 
effect,  the  condition  absolutely  required 
for  gaining  the  Indulgence  of  the  adora- 
tion. 


These  are  the  fundamental  obhgations 
of  the  Archcon fraternity.  They  suffice 
for  membership,  and  for  sharing  in  its 
privileges. 

4.  The  spirit  and  the  aim  of  the  Arch- 
confraternity  are,  however,  to  form  com- 
municants,  not  less  than  adorers  of  the 
Eucharist.  To  this  end  it  urges  its 
members  to  as  frequent  Communion  as 
possible,  offering  to  them  the  induce- 
ment of  numerous  Plenary  Indulgences, 
which  they  can  gain  on  every  day  they 
receive  Holy  Communion. 


§3.     indulgf.nce:s  and  spiritual 
advantages. 

The  members  share  in  the  following 
Indulgences  and  spiritual  favors : 

1.  Union  and  participation  in  the 
merits  and  good  works  of  the  Congrega- 
tion of  the  Fathers  of  the  Blessed  Sacra- 
ment, of  the  Priests'  Eucharistic  League, 
and  of  the  other  Associations  of  the 
Congregation. 

2.  A  Plenary  Indulgence  on  the 
day  of  reception  into  the  Archconfra- 
ternity,     on     condition     of     Confession, 


Communion,  a  visit  to  a  church  where 
the  Blessed  Sacrament  is  kept,  and  a 
prayer  for  the  intentions  of  the  Sover- 
eign Pontiff. 

3.  A  Plenary  Indulgence  daily, 
on  the  same  conditions  for  an  hour  of 
adoration  before  the  Blessed  Sacrament. 
(Brief  of  Jan.  19,  1875.) 

The  great  privilege  of  this  Archconfrater- 
nity  is  that,  if  an  associate  spends  several 
hours  of  adoration  in  the  course  of  the  month, 
even  an  hour  every  week  or  every  day,  he 
may  gain  each  time  a  Plenary  Indulgence,  on 
condition,  however,  that  he  received  Com- 
munion in  the  morning  and  praj'-s  for  the 
intentions  of  the  Sovereign  Pontiff. 

4.  An  Indulgence  of  seven  years 
AND  SEVEN  QUARANTINES  for  thosc  samc 
hours  of  adoration  on  the  days  when 
Holy  Communion  is  not  received. 

5.  The  Indulgences  commonly  called 
Delia  Stazione  del  Santissiiiio  Sacra- 
mento that  have  been  granted  to  the  Se- 
raphic Order;  consequently,  every  time 
the  associates  visit  the  Blessed  Sacra- 
ment in  some  public  church  or  oratory, 
and  recite  six  Pater,  Ave,  and  Gloria, 
they  may  gain  all  the  Indulgences  of  the 
Stations  of  Rome,  Jerusalem,  Saint 
James  of  Compostello,  and  the  church  of 
the  Portiuncula,   i.   e.,  an  almost  incal- 


culable  number  of  Plenary  and  Partial 
Indulgences.  These  Indulgences  are,  at 
least,  as  rich  as  those  of  the  Way  of  the 
Cross,  and  they  can  be  gained  in  five 
minutes.  St.  Alphonsus  di  Liguori  says 
that  these  Plenary  and  Partial  Indul- 
gences are  almost  innumerable. 

6.  The  Indulgence  of  the  Portiuncula 
may  be  gained  every  year  (from  2  p.  m.,. 
August  1,  to  7  p.  m.,  August  2),  by  all 
the  members  of  the  Archconfraternity. 
in  any  parish  church  in  which  the  Blessed 
Sacrament  is  reserved.  This  extra- 
ordinary favor  consists  in  a  Plenary 
Indulgence  w^hich  may  be  gained  during 
these  two  days  as  often  as  a  member 
makes  a  visit  of  about  five  minutes  to 
the  church,  and  prays  for  the  Sovereign 
Pontiff.  Communion  must  be  received 
on  one  of  the  two  days,  the  choice  op- 
tional.    (May  15,  1908.) 

7.  A  Plenary  Indulgence  on  each 
of  the  following  feasts :  Christmas,. 
Epiphany,  Holy  Thursday,  Easter,  Cor- 
pus Christi,  the  Feast  of  the  Sacred 
Heart,  the  Annunciation,  the  Immaculate 
Conception,  St.  Joseph,  Sts.  Peter  and 
Paul  (June  29),  St.  Michael  the  Arch- 
angel (September  29),  and  St.  John  the 
Evangelist  (December  27). 


8.  A  Plenary  Indulgence  at  the 
hour  of  death,  by  invoking  the  Holy 
Xame  of  Jesus.    (Brief  of  Jan.  19,  1875.) 

All  the  foregoing  Indulgences,  except 
the  last,  are  applicable  to  the  souls  in 
purgatory. 


§4.      THE  INAPPRECL\BLE  EXCELLENCE  OF 

THE   ARCHCONFRATERNITY    OF    THE 

BLESSED   SACRAMENT. 

As  may  be  seen  from  the  preceding 
pages,  the  Archconfraternity  of  the  Alost 
Blessed  Sacrament  is  an  Association  of 
capital  importance  and  inappreciable 
excellence. 

1.  Its  object  is  not  to  honor  any 
saint,  but  to  glorify  the  Divine  Person 
of  Our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  Himself, 
living  among  us  in  the  Most  Blessed 
Sacrament  of  the  Altar.  There  is  no 
work  on  earth  comparable  to  this.  The 
Archconfraternity  of  the  ^lost  Blessed 
Sacrament  is,  then,  as  far  superior  to  all 
other  Confraternities  as  the  Divine  Per- 
son of  Jesus  Christ  is  superior  to  all  the 
saints. 


2.  The  most  excellent  of  all  in  its 
object,  the  Archconfraternity  of  the 
Most  Blessed  Sacrament  is,  again,  the 
most  excellent  in  its  aim,  which  is  the 
sanctification  of  souls  by  the  Holy 
Eucharist.  There  is  not,  in  effect,  a 
more  powerful  means  of  sanctification 
in  the  Church  than  the  Holy  Eucharist, 
which  is  Itself  the  Source  of  every  grace. 
Now,  the  Archconfraternity  has  no  other 
aim  than  to  bring  souls  to  the  Eucharist, 
to  make  It  known,  loved,  adored  by  them, 
and  to  lead  them  to  receive  It  frequently. 

3.  By  its  very  constitution  3.nd  nature, 
the  Archconfraternity  of  the  Blessed 
Sacrament  holds  first  rank  among  all 
pious  works.  It  is  not  a  simple  Confra- 
ternity but  an  Archconfratkrnity, 
*'Archi-Associatio  Primaria,"  as  it 
reads  in  the  Brief  of  Leo  XIII.,  dated 
May  8,  1897.  and  has  the  precedence 
above  the  other  Confraternities  in  a 
parish. 

4.  If,  in  fine,  we  take  into  considera- 
tion the  innumerable  favors  and  privi- 
leges that  have  been  granted  it,  we  must 
acknowledge  that  the  Archconfraternity 
of  the  Most  Blessed  Sacrament  holds 
first  rank,  and  that  it  is  one  of  the 
richest  Associations  existing  in  the 
Church. 


To  ascertain  the  truth  of  this,  one  has 
but  to  read  what  is  said  above  in  §3. 
Among  its  many  other  privileges  is  not 
that  of  a  Plenary  Indulgence  daily  for 
an  hour  of  adoration  a  very  signal  one? 
Again,  the  privilege  of  being  able  to  gain 
daily  by  a  simple  visit  of  five  minutes 
to  any  church  the  innumerable  Plenary 
and  Partial  Indulgences  of  The  Station 
of  the  Most  Blessed  Sacrament F  And 
lastly,  the  unheard-of  privilege  of  being 
able  to  gain  yearly,  on  August  2,  in  any 
church  whatsoever,  the  famous  Indul- 
gences of  the  Portiiinciilaf 

In  conclusion,  we  may  truly  say  that 
the  Archconfraternity  of  the  Most 
Blessed  Sacrament  is  a  work  of  incom- 
parable excellence,  as  well  as  the  most 
opportune  Association  for  the  present 
day.  It  responds  to  the  most  pressing 
needs  of  souls"  and  to  the  most  earnest 
desires  of  Holy  Church  by  laboring  to 
spread  devotion  to  the  ]\Iost  Blessed  Sac- 
rament, chiefly  by  Holy  Communion  and 
Adoration  to  which  tlie  Pope  exhorts  his 
devout  children.  Therefore,  we  must 
not  be  astonished  at  seeing  the  Archcon- 
fraternity of  the  Most  Blessed  Sacrament 
rapidly  spreading  throughout  all  coun- 
tries. 

10 


§5.      SPIRITUAL   COUNSELS. 

1.  The  members  shall  make  it  a  point 
to  assist  at  the  Holy  Sacrifice  of  the  Mass 
every  day,  if  possible,  to  receive  Holy 
Communion  also  daily,  provided  they  are 
in  the  state  of  grace  and  have  the  right 
intention. 

2.  They  are  advised  to  recite  often,, 
every  day,  the  following  invocation  in 
honor  of  the  Holy  Eucharist  and  of  the 
Blessed  Virgin : 

'Traise  and  thanks  be  given  at  every 
moment  to  the  Most  Holy  and  Most  Di- 
vine Sacrament."  (300  Days'  Indul- 
gence.) 

"Blessed  be  the  holy,  immaculate  and 
most  pure  Conception  of  the  Blessed 
Virgin  Mary,  Mother  of  God."  (300 
Days'  Indulgence.) 

3.  All  that  pertains  to  the  worship, 
service,  glory  of  Our  Lord  in  His  august 
Sacrament  is  expected  to  find  an  echa 
in  the  hearts  of  the  Associates  above  all 
others.  A  pious  adorer  will  show  his 
love  by  his  works,  which  are  principally 
the  enrolling  of  new  members ;  the  or- 
ganizing of  a  service  of  adoration  in  the 
parish,   especially   for  the  Forty   Hours 


and  the  monthly  Exposition;  the  adorn- 
ing of  the  altar  on  which  the  Blessed 
Sacrament  is  exposed,  with  flowers, 
lights,  hangings,  etc. ;  the  assisting  at 
the  Procession  of  Corpus  Christi  and 
contributing  to  its  solemnity;  the  accom- 
panying of  the  Holy  \"aticum  and  pre- 
paring in  the  sick  room  a  little  oratory 
to  receive  It  with  due  respect,  etc. 

4.  They  shall  have,  also,  a  tender  de- 
votion toward  the  Blessed  A'irgin  Mary, 
on  account  of  the  most  intimate  bonds 
that  unite  Islary  to  the  august  Mystery 
of  the  Body  and  Blood  of  Jesus  Christ. 
They  shall  often  invoke  her  under  the 
beautiful  title  of  Our  Lady  of  the  Most 
Blessed  Sacrament. 


FORMULA  OF   COXSECRATION. 

I,   X .   servant  of  Jesus  Christ, 

although  unworthy,  but  full  of  confi- 
dence in  divine  grace,  under  the  guid- 
ance and  auspices  of  the  Immaculate 
\'irgin  ]^Iary,  under  the  protection  of 
Saint  ]^Iichael  the  Archangel,  of  Saint 
Joseph,  of  the  blessed  Apostles  Peter 
and  Paul,  of  the  beloved  disciple  Saint 
John,  consecrate  and  devote  myself  with 

12 


all  my  heart,  with  all  my  soul,  and  with 
all  my  strength,  to  the  service  of  adoring 
Jesus  Christ,  our  Lord,  truly,  really,  and 
substantially  present  in  the  Most  Blessed 
Sacrament  for  the  love  of  men.  And  to 
promote  more  efficaciously  His  reign 
of  love  in  me,  in  mine,  and  in  the 
whole  world,  I  associate  myself  to  the 
life  of  adoration  of  the  Congregation  of 
the  Fathers  of  the  Most  Blessed  Sacra- 
ment, promising  to  make  in  union  with 
it  and  its  associated  members,  the 
monthly  adoration,  and  to  devote  myself 
according  to  my  ability  to  the  greatest 
glory  of  Jesus  in  His  Sacrament  of  Love. 

Confirm  in  me,  O  my  God,  the  work 
of  Thy  grace !  O  Mary,  blessed  Mother 
of  Jesus,  and  my  own  loving  Mother, 
help  me  as  thy  child !  Direct  me  in  the 
'service  of  Jesus,  that  I  may  serve  Him 
worthily  and  please  Him  during  life, 
and  after  death  have  the  happiness  of 
praising  and  loving  Him  with  thee  for 
all  eternity !    Amen. 


Fathers  of  the  Blessed  Sacrament 
185  East  76th  Street  New  York,  N.  Y. 


THE  "MONTH  OF  MARY" 

Our  Lady  of  the  Most  Blessed  Sacrament 

By  VEN.  FATHER  EYMARD 

A    most  desirable   book  for  public  or  private  devotion 
during   the  month  of  Our   Lady. 

Price,  Cloth  Bound.  Gold  Title,  -  -  50  Cents 


NOVENA   TO   OUR   LADY  OF   THE  MOST 
BLESSED   SACRAMENT 

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PRAYER  TO   OUR   LADY   OF   THE   MOST 
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Our  Lady  of  the  Most  Blessed  Sacrament 
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THE  HOLY   EUCHARIST 

(4  volumes) 

By  VEN.  PERE  EYMARD 

1.  The  Real  Presence  3.     The  Eucharistic  Retreats 

2.  Holy  Communion  4.     The  Divine  Eucharist  and 

Christian  Perfection 

Each  Volume.  Cloth,  50  Cents  Leather,  $1.00 


THE  EUCHARISTIC  HEART.  Fr.  Tesniere,       Cloth,  $1.00 
THE  MONTH  OF  ST.  JOSEPH.  Pere  Eymard.  aotli,     ^S 


Address,  THE  SENTINEL  PRESS 

185  East  76th  Street  New  York.  N.  Y. 


'All   the   day   long   have   I   spread   My   hands  i 
to   a   people   that   believeth  ^not.     .     ." 

(Rom.  X,  21) 


CT- 


»{fe»y.'>a&.*y.»a^.'*ait.»y.»y.*aft.  »3fe,«flit..»a&.-^^         *^.>aft  ^.*»^i».*». 


THE   DIVINE   EUCHARIST. 


T^^'^'^^'^'^'^'W^'^'^'^'^'^'^'^'SSS'^'^SS'^ 


^^M.^Li^S^^^'^^^ 


ijr      tuiiliininiiinriMiiiULi  mix  1 1  :i  iTTTmnrTT  1 1  r  1 1 1  t  1 1 1 1 


■^■^■^■^^■^■^■^■^3 


^»-V<l    THE    >-{-^«» 


DilainE  GucFianet 


Extracts  from  the  Writings  and  Sermons 


of  Venerable  Pierre-Julien  EYMARD, 


Founder  of  the  Oongregation  of  the  Most  Blessed  Sacrament 


— :•:—  FOURTH  SERIES  — :}: — 


THE  EUCHARIST  AND  CHRISTIAN  PERFECTION 


FATHERS  OF  THE  BLESSED  SACRAMENT 


i8s  East  76th  Street,  NEW  YORK. 

tf      Jtiiiiiiniiiiiirr-riiiiriiytitiTri  iiiilllimillilnrmimiiiB     ^m 


Nihil  Ob!>tat 

LUDOVICUS  ESTEVENON.  S.S.S.. 

SUPKRIOR   GENERALIS. 


Rome,  Decembei-  8,  iQtr 


Nihil  Obstat 

REMIGIUS  LAFORT.  S.T.L.. 

CENSOR. 


IMPRIMATUR 

JOANNES  CARDINAL  FARLEV,  D.D.. 

ARCHIEPISCOPUS   NEO-EBOR. 

'i 
New  York'.  January  4,  igi2 


ALL    RIGHTS    RESERVED. 


^■«&:&^*H^i&.i&^^^iS&*!^^i&^^iii^^^M 


LETTER  of  the  ARCHBISHOP 


of  CHAMBERY. 


December  ii,  1875 

My  dear  Father  and  Friend, 

I  thank  you  for  your  last  gift.  This  younger  brother 
appears  to  me  worthy  of  its  other  brethren,  and 
worthily  to  complete  the  family  of  the  holy  Pere 
Eymard  's  Eucharistic  Works.  Indeed,  I  shall  not  be 
astonished  if  here  again  Jacob  supplants  Esau.  The 
teaching  of  these  three  Retreats  is  reliable  and  ele- 
vated. It  is  like  the  pith  and  the  crowning  of  all 
that  has  gone  before. 

I   bless  again   this  publication  and  all  the   good 
Fathei^s  and  Brothers   of  this  new  Society,    and   I 
commend  myself  to  their  prayers  and  to  your  own. 
t  P.  A.,  Archbishop  of  Chamb£;ry. 


IMPRIMATUR  : 
Carolus,  Archiepisc.  Turonensis. 
Turonibus,  die  19  martii,  1876. 


1^ 


r^nt^A^oi 


« 


APPROBATION. 


gfj^^S'^^^  «p"««  "t^  sQif  -Wit  iflsr«i:  «if'*9?  •**%"•%■  «9sf^<^"^ 

WE  have  before  us  the  fourth  and  last  series  of  the 
Venerable  Pere  Eymard's  works.  All  his  writ- 
ings, sa  far  collected  and  put  into  form,  are  now  at  the 
disposal  of  English  readers.  All  have  been  approved 
at  Home  as  the  first  step  toward  the  Beatification  of 
the  holy  writer.  He  could  not  have  more  fittingly 
ended  his  labors  with  the  pen  than  by  giving  us  this 
little  volume  on  Christian  Perfection.  It  is  a  pro- 
found subject,  which  frequently  daunts  even  the  brav- 
est  of  us  in  the  spiritual  life.  But  led  on  by  the 
firm  hand  and  gentle  guidance  of  this  holy  Apostle  of 
the  Eucharist,  timid  souls  gain  confidence  and  expand 
under  the  sunshine  of  the  Sacred  Host. 

The  whole  code  of  Christian  perfection  ^as  first 
preached  by  Christ  in  His  sermon  on  the  nrount. 
Pere  Eymard  has  taken  those  bare,  fundamental  prin- 
ciples and  clothed  them  with  the  Eucharistic  spirit. 
They  who  have  had  not  only  the  pleasure,  but  the 
good  fortune,  of  reading  the  other  three  volumes  from 
his  Eucharistic  pen,  know  that  for  him  the  Blessed 
Sacrament  was,  indeed,  Christ  living  and  breathing 
and  still  working  among  us.  He  points  with  all  the 
warmth  and  enthusiasm  of  a  great  preacher,  to  the 
Sacred  Host  as  the  grand  Model  of  every  Christian 
virtue.  When  he  urges  souls  to  follow  the  counsels, 
it  is  because  Jesus,  "  having  loved  His  own  who  were 
in  the    world,    loved   them   unto  the    end.  "     He 


APPROBATION. 


who  proclaimed  of  Himself,  *'  I  am  the  way7  the 
truth,  and  the  life,  "  is  placed  before  us  on  every 
page  of  these  wonderful  little  books  as  still  pleading 
for  love  and  service  from  His  redeemed  ones. 

May  the  voice  of  the  Good  Shepherd,  still  guarding 
His  sheep-fold  from  the  depths  of  our  tabernacles  all 
over  the  world,  be  borne  to  souls  far  and  wide  by  the 
burning  words  of  this  modern  propagator  of  the 
Eucharistic  life  !  May  its  spirit  stir  up  in  the  hearts 
of  the  Faithful  of  all  conditions  "a  great  desire  for 
Holy  Communion  that  thus  they  may  render  thera' 
selves  less  unworthy  to  communicate  daily  !  " 

J.  Card.  GIBBONS. 


PREFACE. 


JVe  are  happy  to  give  to  our  readers  the 
Fourth  Series  of  Venerable  Pere  Eymard^s 
Instructions  on  the  Divine  Eucharist  and  Chris- 
tian Perfectio?!^  which  has  been  eagerly  awaited 
since  the  issue  of  the  three  preceding  volumes. 

Herc^  again,  we  shall  listen  to  the  Father 
speaking.  Not  only  his  thoughts  but,  for  the 
most  part,  his  very  expressions  have  bee7t  faith- 
fully reproduced,  for  the  notes  which  we  have 
used  were  taken  under  his  own  dictation.  The 
editor  of  this  volume  himself  took  those  of  the 
first  and  the  second  Retreats.  Plre  Eymard 
examined  them  carefully,  and  commended  their 
exactitude. 

We  arc  under  the  impression  that  this  volume 
will  be  greatly  appreciated  by  the  numerous 
Congregations  founded  recently  for  the  adora- 
tion of  the  Most  Blessed  Sacrament,  since  they 
should  in  a  special  manner  find  in  the  Eucharist 
the  exemplar,  as  well  as  the  nourishment,  oj 
their  religious  life. 

To  the  secular  Aggregates  of  the  Society  oj 
the  Fathers  of  the  Blessed  Sacrament  or,  as 
they  are  known  in  this  country^  The  People 's 
Eucharistic  League,  //  also  appeals.     Although 


X  PREFACE. 

the  instructions  that  it  contains  were  delivered^ 
for  the  most  part,  to  the  Religious  of  the  Insti- 
iuie,  the  Aggregates,  the  tnembers  of  the  League, 
who,  though  not  leading  the  same  life,  ought  to 
breathe  the  same  spirit,  will  find  in  it  the  pre- 
cepts of  EucJiaristic  perfection,  that  is^  a  Chris- 
tian life  whose  principle,  centre,  and  end  is  the 
Eucharist. 

If  all  the  mysteries  oj  fesus  Christ  possess  in 
themselves  so  great  a  ^race  of  sanctifcation  that 
whoever  aims  at  living  by  any  one  of  them, 
thereby  receiving  the  divine  influence  of  all  the 
others,  arrives  at  perfection  thai  is  very  plainly 
eT.)ident^  and  in  which  the  spirit,  the  character, 
and  the  virtue  proper  to  that  7nystery  sovereignly 
dominate ;  if  Bethlehem,  Nazareth,  and  Calvary, 
above  all,  have  their  disciples,  and  people  the 
paradise  of  the  Church  with  saints  of  their  own 
peculiar  beauty,  perfume,  and  usefulness,  shall 
not  the  Holy  Eucharist  also,  have  Its  disciples  ? 
shall  It  not  form  Its  saints  ? 

True  it  is  that,  as  no  one  reaches  the  perfect 
age  of  fesus  Christ  unless  faithfully  nourishing 
himself  with  the  Sacra?nent  of  Bis  Body  und 
Blood,  all  the  elect  are  really  the  fruits  of  that 
Tree  of  Life.  But  it  may  be  easily  understood 
that,  if  the  Eucharist  is  the  object  of  a  dominant 
devotion,  a  central  love,  a  constant  study;  if  one 


PREFACE.  JCI 

consecrates  to  It  regular^  special,  and  exclusive 
attention.  It  must  operate  tn  souls  touched  dy 
this  grace  and  faithful  to  this  attraction  a 
special  perfection  whose  distinctive  noie  will  be 
the  reproduction,  as  far  as  possible.^  of  the 
virtues  and  states  of  Jesus  Christ  in  this  Mys- 
tery. 

The  grace  of  the  Eucharist  will  flow  info 
these  souls  and  will  inspire  their  conduct  with 
the  same  motives  that  led  Jesus  Christ  to  insti- 
tute and  perpetuate  the  Sacra fn en t  of  His  ador- 
able Presence^  the  chief  of  which  is  love,  "  In  fi- 
nem  dilexit — He  loved  to  the  endP^  The  grace  of 
the  Eucharist  will  urge  them  to  prefer  the  acqui- 
sition of  those  virtues  that  most  evidently  sprino 
from  the  sacramental  state  of  Jesus- Hostia,  and 
none  will  be  dearer  to  them  than  that  profound 
humility  which  is  His  permanent ^state,  and 
which  constitutes  the  lowest  degree  Co  which  love 
can  descend. 

Lastly^  the  supreme  aim  of  Our  Lord  being  to 
give  Himself  wholly  and  personally  by  Holy 
Communion  to  every  Christian,  in  order  to  live 
in  him,  to  take  possession  of  his  soul,  his  hearty 
his  powers,  that  He  may  direct,  elevate^  and 
sanctify  them  in  that  divine  union,  the  soul 
faithful  to  the  action  of  Eucharistic  grace,  will 
give  herself  to  Jesus  Christy  will  deliver  over  to 


XII  PREFACE. 


Him  as  purely  as  she  can^  and  every  d"y  more 
perfectly^  her  beings  her  ijuhole  life^  that  He  may 
Himself  live  in  her^  possess  her  entirely^  and  as 
a  Master  direct  her  conduct^  thoughtSy  affections^ 
and  actions.  Then  does  the  Sacrament  attain 
lis  end.  Jesus  Christ  lives  in  us^  dwells  in  vs 
and,  as  He  lives  by  the  Father,  so  do  we  li^je  by 
Him.  He  is  the  Head,  we  are  but  His  tnem- 
bers.  He  is  all,  we  are  nothing,  or  rather,  we 
are  Himself! 

Venerable  Pere  Eymard  shows  in  one  word 
{which  we  must  call  sublime)  the  supreme  ai7n 
of  the  work  of  perfection  through  the  Eucharist : 
"  You  must  be  (remember  it  well)  only  human 
shadows  and,  as  it  were,  the  appearances  of  which 
the  Eucharist  is  the  substance  !  " 

Evidently,  this  is  not  the  work  of  a  day. 
What  generosity,  what  fidelity,  what  labors  and 
combats  this  noble  end  exacts!  This  volutne 
will  serve  as  a  guide  to  souls  whom  it  interests. 
May  it  multiply  adorers  in  spirit  and  in  truth 
of  the  Sacrament  of  Love  !  May  it  help  them  to 
increase  in  the  perfect  service  of  the  Divine  Per- 
son of  Jesus  Christ,  our  King  and  our  Cod,  in 
the  Holy  Eucharist ! 


^^^^^^^^^4^ 


RETREAT 


PREACHED  TO   THE  MEMBERS  OF  THE 
=    CONGREGATION   OF  THE   Z== 


Brothers  of  S^  Vincent  de  Paul 


FOREWORD. 


HE  instructions  of  this  first  Retreat  were  given 
by  the  Venerable  Pere  Eymard  to  the  Congre- 
gation of  the  Brothers  of  St.  Vincent  de  Paul. 

This  pious  Institute  dates  from  only  a  few  years 
back.  Founded  at  Paris  by  the  Reverend  P^re  Le 
Prevost,  of  venerated  memory,  its  end  is  to  procure 
the  glory  of  God  and  the  salvation  of  souls  by  opening 
to  the  working-classes  means  of  help,  clubs,  places  of 
assembly,  and  churches  where  every  evening,  and  all 
day  on  Sunday,  workmen  may  find  beneficial  rest, 
lawful  recreation,  and  good  instruction. 

The  spirit  of  the  work  is  unbounded  zeal  and  abso- 
lute devotedness  to  the  workmen,  whom  the  members 
must  search  put,  attract,  and  guard  by  every  means 
supernatural  charity  can  inspire.  Here  more  than 
anywhere  else,  the  priest  and  the  religious  of  St.  Vin- 
cent de  Paul  ought  to  make  himself  all  to  allio  gain 
all  these  poor  hearts  to  Jesus  Christ.  He  ought,  if 
occasion  offered,  to  know  how  even  to  become  a 
martyr,  for  the  Abbe  Planchat,  martyred  during  the 
Commune,  was  a  brother  of  St.  Vincent  and  Director 
of  the  Home  of  the  faubourg  Saint-Antoine,  which  he 
had  founded. 

These  few  remarlcs  will  explain  several  passages  of 
the  Retreat  in  which  Pere  Eymard  alludes  to  the  wnd 
of  the  Institute,  its  works,  and  its  foundation. 

We  shall  not  give  the  instructions  in  the  order  in 


FOREWORD, 


which  ihey  were  preached.  Now  intended  rather  for 
spiritual  reading- than  for  meditations  of  Retreat,  the 
reader  will  draw  more  profit  from  them  by  taking 
them  one  after  another  in  logical  sequence,  one  thus 
strengthening  and  throwing  light  on  the  other. 

If,  however,  any  one  desires  to  follow  the  Retreat 
just  as  it  was  preached,  he  may  take  them  in  the 
order  the  Father  mapped  out  for  five  days  : 

I.  Day.      —  I.      The  Graces  of  Retreat. 

II.  Prayer,  Its  Necessity  and  Char- 

acter. 

III.  The  Religious  Slate. 

II.  Day.    —  I.      The  Service  of  God. 

II.  Prayer,  the  Gift  of  Our   Intel- 

lect. 

III.  Does  God  Love  Me  ? 

III.  Day. —  I.      Do  I  Love  God. 

II.  Prayer,  the  Gift  of  Our  Heart. 

III.  Pardoning  Love. 

IV.  Day.  —  I.      Humility. 

II.  Prayer,  the  Gift  of  Our  Will. 

III.  Meekness. 

V.  Day.     —  I.      The  Eucharist,  the  Principle  of 

Sanctity. 

II.  The  Rule,  the  Sanctification  of 

the  Religious. 

III.  Jesus    in     the    Eucharist,    the 
*  Model  of  the  Three  Vows. 
Lastly,  the  sermon  on  the  Profession  orthe  Vows. 


I      TheGRACEof  a  RETREAT      ^ 


for  RELIGIOUS. 


f: 


Estate  •perfectl  sicut  Pater  vester 
CQtlestis  perfectus  est 

Be  ye  perfect -as  your  Heavenly 
Father  is  perfect 

ERE  in  a  few  words  is  the  whole  Gospel. 
Here  is  the  end  of  Jesus  Christ's 
coming,  the  aim  of  the  whole  Christian  life. 
All  the  rest  of  the  Gospel  merely  points  out 
the  way  and '  the  means  to  attain  that  end 
To  be  perfect  as  God  is  perfect,  holy  as 
God  is  holy — behold  the  end  and  aim  of  all 
our  efforts!  Never  shall  we  so  perfectly  attain 
it  as  to  warrant  our  pausing  to  rest.  Every- 
thing here  on  earth  has  its  limit,  but  perfection 
has  none.  Perfection  is  a  participation  in  the 
holiness  of  God,  who  is  infinitely  holy,    i 

Even  for  souls  of  the  best  will,  there  are  in 
the  world  great  difficulties  in  the  attainment 
of  sanctity.  Among  them  is  the  peril  of  self- 
direction,  to  which  may  be  added  that  of 
absorbtion  in  the  labors,  the  necessary  duties 
of    life,    the    occupations    imposed    by    one's 


THE  GRACE  OF  A  RETREAT. 


condition   or  choice.    The  way  of  perfection 
is    almost   ignored. 

Blessed  are  they  whom  God  in  His  mercy 
calls  to  the  religious  life,  which  separates 
them  from  the  world  and  its  dangers  opens 
to  them  a  secure  way,  affords  them  tried 
and  efficacious  means,  and  employs  all  the 
resources  of  the  most  active  charity  to  facili 
tate  their  acquiring  perfection  and  holiness! 

In  the  religious  life  time  is  given  to  the 
care  of  the  soul.  The  religious  does  not 
hesitate  to  interrupt,  to  leave  all  other  oc- 
cupations, liowever  good  they  may  be.  in 
order  to  take  time  to  examine  himself,  to- 
reflect  on  his  own  interior,  and  the  great 
affair  of  his  salvation.  It  is  a  great  grace  to 
have  the  time,  the  means,  the  opportunity  to 
turn  away  from  exterior  things  in  order  to 
th^nk  only  upon  God  and  self.  That  is  the 
grace  of  retreat,  the  grace  of  renewal,  during 
which  we  put  our  accounts  in  order,  scrutinize 
the  secret  folds  of  our  conscience,  the  most 
hidden  motives  of  our  actions,  in  order  to 
free  them  from  that  spiritual  rust,  which  we 
denominate  routine,  which  fastens  on  to  the 


THE  GRACE  OF  A  RETREAT. 


soul  imperceptibly,  like  certain  mollusks  to 
the  sides  of  a  vessel,  weighing  it  down  and 
retarding  its  progress,  its  flight  toward  God. 
Retreat  offers  three  principal  means  of  inte 
rior  renovation. 

I.  —  Retreat  purifies  the  soul  from  sin, 
above  all,  from  the  habit  of  sin  and  affec- 
tion to  sin. 

We  walk  on  the  highway,  along  which  the 
wind  raises  a  thick  dust,  which  falls  upon 
us.  It  clings  to  us,  even  without  our  knowing 
it,  and  our  garments  become  soiled. 

I  know  very  well  that  we  make  our  examen 
carefully  every  evening,  and  that  is  enough 
to  remove  the  heavier  and  more  perceptible 
part  of  the  dust.  But  on  looking  more 
attentively,  is  it  not  true  that  we  find  in  our 
soul  some  venial  sins  inveterate  and  of  long 
standing,  which  remain  in  spite  of  our  daily 
examens  ? 

We  generally  forget  them  in  the  con- 
fessional, and  neglect  to  obtain  pardon  for 
them  by  other  means.  They  have  become 
habitual.  They  no  longer  shock  us.  They 
seem   to   be  a  part    of   ourselves.     Now    the 


8  THE   GRACE   OF   A  RETREAT. 

more  regular  pur  exterior  life  is,  the  more  we 
are  exposed  to  retaining  these  venial  sins  of 
habit.  If  we  study  ourselves  by  the  light  of 
this  Retreat,  we  shall  find  certain  habits  of 
sloth,  negligence,  self-love,  sallies  of  charac- 
ter, freedom  of  speech,  which  are  so  deeply 
rooted  that  we  continually  fall  into  them 
easily  and  on  the  slightest  occasion,  as  we 
do  the  most  ordinary  things.  One  might  say 
that  they  form  a  part  of  our  life-work.  We 
do  not  know  their  cause,  for  we  have  never 
searched  for  their  root.  How,  then,  can  we 
rid   ourselves   of   them? 

The  Retreat  furnishes  us  more  vivid  light. 
It  will  discover  ourselves  to  us,  reveal  to  us 
our  own  interior,  show  us  the  causes  of  those 
venial  sins,  enable  us  to  destroy  their  roots, 
and  thus  free  ourselves  of  them.  The  light, 
the  divine  light  that  penetrates  our  darkness, 
more  or  less  involuntary  on  our  part,  and 
purifies  us,  is  the  greatest  good  of  the  Re- 
treat, for  all  depends  on  being  pure.  Purity 
alone  is  demanded  for  heaven.  We  .enter 
therein  with  sanctity  more  or  less  adorned 
with  virtues,  with  prayer  more  or  less  elevat- 


THE  GRACE  OF  A  RETREAT. 


ed;   but  no  one  goes  in  w^ithout  purity,  and 
purity  of  soul   is  sufficient  for  all. 

How  shall  we  receive  the  purifying  light 
of  the  Retreat?  By  giving  ourselves  to  at- 
tentive, minute,  examinations,  by  searching 
our  conscience,  like  the  savant  studying  mi- 
croscopic animal  life  in  air  and  water  by 
the  aid  of  his  lens.  Self-examination  should 
be  serious,  severe,  sincere.  In  making  it, 
we  should,  above  all,  seek  light  from'  God, 
and  then  proceed  in  a  spirit  of  tenderness, 
love,  and  filial  piety  toward  Him.  We  must 
not  become  so  absorbed  in  self  as  not  to 
be  able  to  act  or  move,  but  go  straight  to 
Oar  Lord.  See  what  His  love  demands  of  us 
in  spite  of  our  continued  refusal.  Listen  to 
His  reproaches.  See  where  we  are  under  loving 
obligations  to  Him,  but  all  this  with  a  true 
desire  to  retrench  every  obstacle,  to  do  all 
that  is  necessary  to  become  pure.  Let  us 
reflect  deeply  on  this  thought:  at  the  hour 
of  death,  the  dying  think  neither  of  their 
virtues  nor  merits.  They  ask  in  fright  whether 
they  are  pure,  whether  they  are  sufficiently 
so  to  appear  before  the  God  of  purity. 

The  Divine  Eucharist. 


10  THE  GRACE  OF   A  RETREAT. 

II.  —  The  second  grace  of  Retreat  is  our 
renewal   in   the   spirit   of   fervor. 

It  is  an  incontrovertible  axiom  that  the  soul 
of  herself  always  tends  to  loss  of  piety,  just 
as  fire,  consuming  itself,  always  tends  to  its 
own  extinction,  even  while  sending  up  its 
most  brilliant  flames  And  on  the  battlefield, 
ihough  the  soldier  may  not  be  killed,  he 
gets  tired  even  while  winning,  he  exhausts 
his  strength.  And  so  the  conqueror  takes 
time    to   refresh    his    troops    by   rest 

Tjie  exercises  and  the  struggles  of  th'? 
spiritual  life  use  up  the  strength  of  the  soul 
It  must  have  repose  in  order  to  recruit  its 
vigor.  Above  all,  is  this  necessary  in  an  active 
life  in  which  the  soul  pours  herself  out  much 
more  freely  in  charity  to  those  around  her 
What  IS  true  for  all  religious  is  much  more 
so  for  them.  Let  a  religious,  for  eight  days 
only,  abandon  his  exercises  of  the  interior 
life,  his  prayer,  his  Office,  in  one  word,  his 
life  of  piety,  and  we  shall  see  what  he  has 
become  at  the  end  of  that  time,  if  he  h  not 
altogether  lost! 

We  are  only  reservoirs,  and  not  very  deep 


THE  GRACE  OF  A  RETREAT.  11 

ones  at  that!  The  source  is  not  in  our- 
selves.  If  we  want,  to  pour  ourselves  out, 
we  must  at  the  same  time  receive,  otherwise 
we  shall  soon  run  dry.  Ah !  we,  more  than 
all,  who  give  much  to  others,  who  expend 
ourselves  on  so  many  works,  we  must  begin 
by  being  well  filled.  We  must  first  become 
saints  ourselves  before  going  to  sanctify 
others.  We  must  first  glorify  God  in  our- 
selves, if  we  would  afterward  glorify  Him  in 
others  I 

Jesus  Christ  prayed  and  fasted  long  before 
undertaking  His  exterior  mission.  The  Apos- 
tles spent  fifty  days  in  prayer  before  scattering 
throughout  the  world;  and  Our  Lord  with- 
drew them  into  the  desert  after  their  first 
mission,  which  had,  however,  lasted  only  a 
short  time. 

Let  us  watch  very  closely  lest,  instead  of 
expending  only  the  interest,  we  touch  upon 
the  principal,  eating  up  at  once  both  capital 
and  revenue,  which  would  be  to  our  ruin. 
Have  we  always  our  head  well  above  water 
during  our  habitual  occupations?  Do  we  con- 
trol our  labors?    Are  we  swayed,  carried  away 


12  THE  GRACE  OF  A  RETREAT. 

by  them,  or  do  we  pass  our  life  under  the  eye 
of  Jesus  Christ,  imder  the  empire  of  His  grace? 

The  more  we  are  engaged  m  holy  things 
the  more  need  have  we  of  frequently  with 
drawling  into  ourselves,  ^of  scrutinizing  our 
heart  and  sounding  its  depths. 

I  do  not  say  to  put  our  virtues  under  our 
eyes  in  order  to  take  complacency  in  them, 
to  examme  them  with  pride,  and  to  number 
up  our  merits  But  the  fear  of  falhng  into 
self-complacency  and  self  satisfaction  must  not 
prevent  us  from  studymg  and  rendering  an 
exact  account  of  our  position  —  do  we  rule 
It?  do  we  rise  above  it?  If  we  do,  oh,  God 
be  blessed!  All  is  going  well!  We  are 
seraphs  hurrymg,  flying  toward  God!  What 
do  we  upon  this  earth?  We  have  nothmg 
more  to  do  here  below! — But  is  it,  indeed,  so"-' 

III. — In  fine,  the  Retreat  prepares  for  us  a 
grace  greater  than  all  these,  one  that  is  not 
always  sufficiently  thought  of  What  is  this 
grace? 

It  is  that  of  tasting  God  in  common,  in 
the  family,  in  the  reunion  of  brethren  gathered 
around  their  father.    A  religious   makes  pro 


THE  GRACE  QF  A  RETREAT.  13 

fession  of  immolating  himself  to  God  throug?i 
love.  His  ordinary  anticipation  is  sacrifice, 
struggle,  and  death  on  the  summit  of  Calvary. 
All  is  dark  and  depressing,  ever  new  efforts, 
new  fatigue. 

Well,  the  Retreat  comes  to  afford  us  time 
and  grace  to  enjoy  God.  We  assemble 
together  from  everywhere  in  one  family.  The 
Retreat  will  make  us  taste  the  sweetness  of 
fraternal  charity,  which  will  find  in  it  new 
bonds,   closer,   more   intimate. 

The  religious  has  his  personal  graces,  but 
God  dispenses  to  him  still  more,  the  social 
graces.  The  first  he  receives  as  chosen  of 
God  to  sanctify  himself  by  personal  fidelity; 
the  second  he  receives  as  member  of  a  body 
which  God  has  formed  for  His  designs  in 
the  Church.  Now,  these  graces  come  to  us 
from  Jesus  Christ  through  the  channel  of 
the.  Superior.  Graces  follow  an  order  es 
tablished  by  God,  a  certain  hierarchical  order. 
They  descend  from  the  universal  Head,  who  is 
Jesus  Christ,  into  the  secondary  heads,  who 
distribute  them  throughout  ;the  members. 
Thus  the  graces  of  Pentecost  fell  first  upon 


14  THE   GRACE  OF   A  RETREAT. 

Mary,  next  to  Jesus  Christ,  the  largest  channel 
of  grace,  in  order  afterward  to  fill  the 
Apostles.  The  graces  that  the  universal 
Church  receives  are  transmitted  to  her  through 
(he  Pope,  her  visible  Head.  In  the  same 
way,  all  the  graces  of  a  religious  Society  pass 
through  the  Superior  thence  to  spread  over 
all  the  members  of  the  body.  It  is  this  that 
makes  unir\'  of  spirit  based  upon  unity  ol 
grace. 

The  Retreat  places  us  in  a  perfect  state  to 
receive  the  graces  of  the  spirit,  of  the  vo- 
cation, of  the  body  of  the  Society  to  which 
we  belong,  in  a  word,  it  puts  us  in  the 
best  condition  to  receive  the  grace  of  our 
religious  life,  by  bringing  us  close  to  our 
Superior  and  uniting  us  more  directly  with 
him.  We  may  say  that,  in  general,  we  have 
not  enough  faith  in  the  religious  body,  in 
ihe  grace  of  the  Superior.  We  do,  indeed, 
believe  that  he  represents  Jesus  Christ  and, 
in  a  spirit  of  faith,  we  wish  to  obey  and 
honor  Jesus  Christ  in  his  person.  But  we 
must,  besides,  have  faith  in  his  grace,  that  is, 
m  the  power  he  possesses  of  communicating 


THE  GRACE  OF  A  RETREAT.  15 

grace  to  the  whole  body,  and  of  giving  to 
it  that  unity  of  spirit  which  forms  its  strength 
and  its  holiness   as  a  religious   body. 

It  is  in  this  union  of  children  around  the 
paternal  table  that  God  communicates  Him- 
self  to  each  of  us  with  goodness,  sweetness, 
and  tenderness.  Yes,  this  Retreat  ought  to 
be  the  Pentecost  of  love.  That  we  may  go 
forth  from  it  strengthened  and  ready  to 
resume  with  joy  our  daily  work,  we  must 
have  in  it  a  taste  of  God.  He  must  pet  us 
like  a  tender  mother. 

Alas!  sad  to  say,  we  are  so  miserably 
that  we  fear  God's  goodness,  fear  tasting 
it  too  much,  fear  to  allow  ourselves  to 
plunge  into  it,  to  be  submerged  in  it.  We 
are  willing  to  behold  the  sanctity,  the  truth, 
even  the  mercy  of  God^  All  that  still  leaves 
a  certain  distance  between  God  and  ourselves, 
and  gives  us,  so  to  say,  time  to  escape  Him 
and  not  to  be  caught  by  Him.  It  leaves  us 
again  to  ourselves.  We  all  fear  not  belong- 
ing to  self,  because  then  we  could  no  longer 
give  ourselves  a  little  to  the  world  or  to 
self-love ! 


16  THE   GRACE  OF    \    RETREAT. 

But  from  God  in  His  goodness,  in  His  ten 
derness,  in  His  ineffable  effusions,  from  God 
clasping  us  to  His  Heart  and  giving  us  a  taste 
of  His  love  in  perfect  union,  we  flee!  Ah!  it 
IS  because  if  God  once  enters  into  us  ajid 
fills  us  With  His  goodness,  if  He  once  makes 
Himself  felt,  if  He  once  makes  us  burst 
into  tears  of  love  and  gratitude,  all  is  over 
we  are  no  longer  our  own,  we  are  caught 
in  the  snare  of  His  love,  we  can  no  moro 
escape,  and  we  must  surrender  uncondition 
ally   to   Him' 

He  charms  us  in  His  tenderness,  He  carries 
us  in  His  arms  and,  wounded  in  heart,  we 
have  but  one  word.  "Lord,  what  wouldst 
Thou  have  me  do?    I  am  all  Thine  forever!  " 

Love  is  a  captor.  It  gives  wings,  it  casts 
fire  into  the  soul.  Ah,  let  us  allow  Oui 
Lord  to  make  us  happy!  If  He  once  does  so 
we  shall  be  all  His.  We  say  to  him  whc 
wants  to  guard  his  heart  in  the  midst  of 
the  world:  Take  care  never  to  shed  tears  and 
never  allow  them  to  fall  before  you;  other- 
wise, you  will  surrender  all  your  strength 
you  will  no  more  belong  to  yourself; 


THE  GRACE  OF  A  RETREAT.  17 

But  here  there  is  question  of  God,  of  Jesus 
Christ.  Ah!  let  us  permit  ourselves  to  be 
inebriated  by  His  tencterness,  ravished  b>'- 
His   love! 

If  we  wish  to  make  a  good  Retreat,  let 
us  place  ourselves  under  the  protection  of 
Mary.  She  is  the  Mother  of  interior  souls. 
She  disposes  of  the  secret  treasures  .of 
Jesus'  bounty.  May  she  obtain  for  us  self- 
enlightenment,  a  clear  light,  pure  and  ef- 
fective, capable  of  lighting  the  fire  of  the 
heart  and  spreading  the  flame  of  the  will! 


IP 


The  SERVICE  of  GOD. 


^ 


e 

I. — We  ought  to  serve  God,  for  we  are 
His  creatures  and  His  property.  Although 
God  gives  us  liberty,  He  does  not  mean  to 
relinquish  His  rights  over  us.  We  belong 
to  Him,  we  are  His;  and  should  we  endeavor 
to  free  ourselves  by  disobedience,  which  is 
a  true  robbery  of  God's  goods,  a  demal 
of  His  rights,  we  then  declare  war  agamst 
God.  God  has  then  to  declare  anew  His 
right  to  possession,  and  He  does  so  by 
chastisement.  Did  He  allow  the  revolt  to  go 
unpunished,  He  would  no  longer  be  God. 

God  does  nothmg  without  an  end.  When 
He  gave  us  a  mind,  a  heart,  and  a  will, 
He  meant  to  render  us  capable  of  knowing, 
loving,  and  serving  Him.  How  greatlv  this 
end  honors  us! 

That  God  willed  to  render  us  capable  of 
loving  Him,  and  that  He  willed  to  accept  our 
love,  is  the  grandeur  of  Christian  grace,  the 
most  brilliant  testimony  of  God's  infinite  con- 
descension.   The  inferior  cannot  presume  to 


THE   SERVICE   OF   GOD.  19 

love  one  who  is  above  him.  Love  supposes 
or  produces  equality.  It  binds  on  both  sides. 
Now,  God  cannot  consent  to  be  our  equal, 
excepting  by  His  love  of  condescension. 
But  in  truth,  He  wishes  it.  He  wants  to  be 
loved,  hence  He  stoops  to  us.  Truly,  He 
did  not  fear  to  go  even  to  the  end  in  that 
way  of  mercy  and,  becoming  incarnate, 
sending  His  Son  to  be  our  Brother,  Pie 
became  really  our  equal. 

But  at  the  same  time  that  in  the  Word 
He  abases  Himself  to  us,  in  the  Humanity 
of  the  Word  He  raises  us  even  to  Himself, 
so  that  in  Jesus  Christ  He  loves  us  infinitely; 
and  we,  too,  in  Jesus  Christ  and  by  His 
merits,  can  love  Him  infinitely.  Loving  Him, 
we  necessarily  serve  Him,  for  we  cannot  lov« 
Him  without  knowing  Him;  and  that  knowl 
edge  gives  rise  to  the  necessity  of  serving 
Him,  for  it  shows  Him  to  us  as  God,  Our 
Lord  and  Master,  and  it  puts  us  in  pur 
rank  of  creatures  who  owe  Him  all  that 
they  have  and  all  that  they  are. 

Thus    the   necessity    of    serving    God   flows 
from  the  knowledge  of  what  He  is  and  from 


20  THE  SERVICE  OF  GOD. 

the  grace  to  love  what  He  gives  us,  as  the 
effect  springs  from  its  natural  cause. 

But  how  serve  God  as  He  deserves,  and 
what  motives  ought  to  animate  us  to  serve 
Him   well? 

II. — First,  It  is  a  duty  of  justice  which 
obliges  us  to  the  positive  law  in  all  that  it 
demands.-  This  law  ought  to  take  precedence 
of   every   private   will. 

So,  first  the  law  of  God,  the  Decalogue, 
then  the  laws  of  the  Church,  all  her  laws; 
and,  lastly,  the  laws  of  our  state.  Herein  is 
contained  the  testimony  of  the  expressed  will 
of  God.  It  ought  to  take  precedence  of  all 
duties  of  supererogation  we  may  have  im- 
posed upon  ourselves. 

Alasl  under  this  pretext  of  domg  more, 
how  unfaithful  are  they  who  presume  to 
dispense  themselves  from  what  is  prescribed, 
and  who  really  thereby  violate  some  law  I 
How  many  sins  against  the  simple  law  of 
justice  1 

Let  us  base  our  sanctity  on  this  firm  rock: 
let  the  first  foundation  of  our  religious  life 
be  the  exact  and  rigorous  observance  of  the 


THE   SERVICE    OF   GOD.  21 


law  explicitely  laid  down  and  of  the  law  of 
justice;  for  the  religious  life,  while  subject  to 
the  counsels,  does  not  dispense  from  the 
common  law.  Our  obligations  increase,  our 
graces  also.  We  must  keep  the  counsels  and 
not   omit  the  law. 

The  Lord  in  His  mercy,  has  promised  a 
recompense  for  the  fulfilment  of  justice.  He 
lias  a  right  to  be  served  for  Himself  without 
any  retribution,  but  He  desires  to  multiply 
the  forms  of  His  love.  After  having  infused 
His  love  into  us  in  order  that  we  may  be  able 
to  merit,  He  crowns  it  in  us  for  the  'works 
that  it  has  therein  performed. 

Thus  loved  and  prevented,  shall  we  not 
do  for  God  what  we  would  do  for  men?  If 
1  have  not  done  it,  I  am  a  wretch.  I  have 
preferred  the  devil,  vanity,  to  the  service  of 
God  I  I  have,  perhaps,  never  thought  of  it, 
but  that  is  a  poor  excuse.  Ignorance  gives 
no  right  to  insult  God. 

III. — We  must  sei-ve  God,  because  it  is  to 
our  interest,  because  we  have  everything  to 
gain  in  His  service,  and  the  recompense  will 
be  magnificent.    Again  God's  goodness  shows 


22  THE  SERVICE  OF  GOD. 

itself  here.  He  could  have  exacted  of  His 
creature  absolute  service  without  any  rec- 
ompense. But  no.  He  wills  that  His  ser- 
vice Itself  should  be  useful  to  us  and  that, 
m  serving  Him,  we  labor  far  more  for  our- 
selves than  for  Him.  His  laws,  in  fact,  afford 
us  supernatural  helps  and  at  the  same  time, 
the  rules  to  accomplish  them.  They  elevate 
us  and  supply  for  our  natural  mdigence. 
They  render  us  happy  m  this  world  and  in 
the  other.  Here  below  they  put  us  at  rest 
in  the  order  and  happmess  that  result  from 
peace  and  the  spiritual  goods  that  flourish 
m  it;  and  after  this  life,  they  give  us  divme 
and  unending  joy.  Surely,  the  service  that 
God  demands  of  us  gives  more  to  us  than 
to  Himself!  But  m  spite- of  that,  we  fail  to 
serve  Him,  and  even  for  our  own  mterest! 
We  desire  with  all  our  strength  to  be  able 
to  abuse  our  liberty,  and  we  despise  God's 
magnificent  promises!  "We  bestir  ourselves 
for  a  stipend,"  says  the"  Imitation,  "and  we 
will  not  r^se  a  foot  for  the  kingdom  of  God.* 
Oh,  the  blindness  of  ingratitude! 
IV — But  we  must  serve  God  through  love. 


THE   SF    VICE   OF   GOD.  23 

Interested  service  is  good,  but  it  is  not 
perfection.  Our  God  is  a  Father,  let  us  servo 
Him  as  children  by  devotedness  which  takes 
no  account,  which  expects  nothing,  but  which, 
gives  itself  through  a  need  of  the  heart,  in- 
order  to  return  love  for  love.  Do  children 
demand  a  salary  for  the  services  they  render 
their  parents?  Filial  love  wants  no  other 
recompense  than  to  love  and  devote  itself 
through  gratitude. 

At  the  time  of  the  Crimean  War,  a  soldier 
came  to  me,  desiring  to  confess  before  em- 
barking. He  was  not  a  conscript.  He  was 
going  of  his  own  free  will.  He  had  sold 
himself  as  a  substitute  for  the  support  of  his 
aged  father  and  mother.  That  all  appeared 
very  natural  to  him,  and  he  told  me  that  he 
had  only  done  his  duty.  He  went  off  quite 
happy.  See  what  filial  love  can  do!  See 
what  human  parents  receive!  Shall  we  not 
do  as  much  for  God?  And  shall  not  this 
Father  of  all  goodness  be  able  to  rouse  in 
us  filial  love,  generous  and  disinterested?  If 
hot,  it  is  a  great  shame  for  us! 
We  may,  perhaps,  say  that  we  have  left  all 


24  THE  SERVICE  OF  GOD. 

for  Him.  That  is  well,  but  let  us  examine 
whether  we  have  m  reality  left  all. 

Let  us,  then,  serve  God,  for  it  is  justice. 
We  have  to  repair,  and  the  more  we  have 
offended  Him,  the  more  rigorously  we  ought 
now  to   observe   His   laws. 

Let  us  serve  Him  through  interest,  in  order 
to  do  henceforth  for  Him  as  much,  at  least, 
as  we  formerly   did  for   ourselves. 

Let  us  serve  Him,  above  all,  through  love 
as  a  Father,  a  Friend,  as  Our  Saviour,  to 
return  Him  a  little  of  our  love  for  the  in- 
finite love  that  He  has  shown  us.  and  that 
He  still  daily  lavishes  upon  us! 


\7 


^ 


■ W 

The  RELIGIOUS  STATE.        ^ 

I 

HE  religious  state  is  along  with  the 
Episcopate,  the  state  of  perfection  in 
the  Church.  There  is  between  them  this 
difference,  that  the  Episcopate  supposes  per. 
faction  acquired,  while  the  religious  state 
essentially  tends  thereto,  but  by  sure  and 
perfect  means. 

Happy  the  religious .  who  can  occupy  him- 
self with  his  salvation  alone,  concentrate  on 
that  great  affair  all  his  efforts  and  all  his 
graces!  The  secular  priest  is  far  from  having 
these  facilities.  He  is,  above  all,  for  others. 
He  is  God's  minister  to  souls,  an  inter- 
mediary. The  religious  life  is,-  then,  a  grace 
of  security  and  mercy. 

T. — It  is,  in  effect,  the  greatest  grace  of 
mercy.  Our  Lord  sees  a  poor  soul,  weak 
and  surrounded  by  enemies.  He  knows  not 
how  to  defend  himself,  and  he  will,  without 
doubt,  succumb.  He  calls  him  to  the  religious 
life.  He  shuts  him  up  in  that  citadel  in  which 
he  will  escape  the  great  struggles  of  the 
plain.    There  He  surrounds  him  with  graces, 

The  Divine  Euchsyist.  3 


26  THE     RELIGIOUS     STATE. 

lights,  experience,  and  salutary  means.  The 
religious  life  is  a  favor-,  a  privilege  of  the 
good  God  to  a  saul.  If  we  would  understand 
it,  we  nwist  examine  it.  Ah!  if  we  have  ever 
drunk  the  poison  of  the  world,,  if  we  have 
been  caught  in  the  snares  of  vanity  and  sin, 
if  we  have,  in  a  word,  experienced  our  own 
weakness  and  weighed  the  work  that  we  did. 
we  know  well  how  great  is  the  grace  that 
withdrew  us  into  the  religious  life.  We  do 
not  sufficiently  reflect  on  vocation  m  the 
light  of  its  being  a  mark  of  Jesus  Christ's 
love  of  pr.eference  for  us.  So  now  it  behoov^es 
us  to  attach  ourselves  to  it.  to  hold  fast  to 
It  as  to  the  only  plank  of  salvation.  \\'hat 
chances  he  loses  who  abandons  the  religious 
life  he  had  once  embraced!  .\nd  what 
temerity  to  leave  that  fortress  in  order  to 
expose  himself  to  those  dangers  from  which 
God's  kind  providence  had  snatched  him.. 
because  he  could  not  face  them!  The 
journey  from  the  cell  to  heaven  is  short.  Let 
us   not   quit   it  I 

This  is  a  great  favor!    Sometimes  we  pride 
ourselves   on   the   merit    of    havnng   become  a 


THE    RELIGIOUS    STATE.  27 

religious,  and  think  we  have  done  a  heroic 
action.  Alas!  we  are  in  arrears  with  mercy. 
The  advantage  is  all  on  our  side.  We  receive 
a  hundred  times  more  than  we  have  given. 
It  js  all  for  our  gross  interest.  It  is  we 
who  are  the  gainers,  we  who  are  served  by 
it,  and  not  we  who  serve.  The  Society  to 
which  we  belong,  its  Superior,  its  other 
members,  its  graces,  its  virtues,  its  sanctity 
and  its  experience,  the  will  of  God  oyer  it — 
all  that  is  offered  us,  and  we  make  use  of  it 
as  belonging  to  us.  Oh!  woe  to  him  who 
thinks  himself  something  in  a  Society,  who 
thinks  that  it  owes  much  to  him  for  having 
entered,  and  who  makes  self  the  end  of  the 
services  that  it  renders!  No.  no,  we  are  all 
the  favored  ones,  let  us  understand  that  well. 
What  we  give  is  nothing  in  comparison  with 
what  we  receive.  We  ought  to  love  our  So- 
ciety with  a  love  of  gratitude,  acknowledge 
what  we  owe  to  it,  and  incessantly  thank 
God" for  the  mercy  He  has  shown  us  in  calling 
us    to    it. 

II. — The    religious   life    is    a    grax^e    of   very 
special  love,  of  choice,  an  extraordinary  grace. 


28  THE     RELIGIOUS     STATE. 

It  is  to  His  disciples,  to  those  that  His  love 
distinguishes;  to  His  chosen  ones  that  Our 
Lord  says:  "Go,  sell  all  that  thou  hast,  and 
come  follow  Me." 

All  the  helps  afforded  by  the  religious  life 
share  in  the  nobility  of  its  end.  All  its  graces 
are  eminent.  Only  extraordinary  graces  are 
therein  received.  Everything-  in  it  elevates 
us  to  uncommon  holiness,  to  eminent  sanctity 
In  It  we  must  be  saints  under  penalty  of 
being  altogether  unfaithful  There  is  no 
middle  course.  Every  religious  is  called  to 
be  a  great  saint,  and  the  graces  he  receives 
are  m  proportion  to  this  subhme  vocation. 

AIL  the  means  it  offers,  are,  besides,  sure 
and  tried  The  saints  employed  them,  and 
sanctified  themselves  by  faithfully  doing  so. 
The  way  is  clearly  marked  out.  God  Himself 
is  the  guide,  or  His  angels.  It  is  really 
as  in  the  desert,  the  government  of  God 
Himself  represented  in  His  visible  angels. 
He  there  speaks  by  His  law,  the  Rule;  by 
His  own  mouth,  the  order  of  Superiors. 
Happy  people  of  whom  God  is  the  leader,  in 
the  midst  of  whom  He  abides,  and  of  whom 


the;  religious  state.  29 

He  intrusts  the  conduct  to  no  one  but  Him- 
self and  His  angels!  The  Jews  wanted  to 
have  judges  and  kings.  It  was  for  their  own 
loss.  Would  that  they  were  still  under  the 
immediate  conduct  of  God!  This  we  enjoy 
in  the  religious  life.  Let  us  greatly  ap- 
preciate this  grace.  It  is  not  to  be  found 
hi  the  world. 

Still  more,  in  the  religious  life  every  one 
is  helped  by  his  brother.  They  support  one 
another.  Each  one  increases  his  strength  and 
his  merits  a  hundredfold  by  the  virtue  and 
merits  of  his  brethren?  Is  that  nothing? 
Ah!  if  in  the  world  they  knew  what  the 
religious  life  is,  they  would  storm  the  con- 
vents, and  no  one  would  remain  in  it ! 

ni. — Lastly,  the  religious  life  is  a  grace  of 
excellent  and  very  special  honor,  which  Jesus 
Christ  extends  to  us.  The  religious  is  to 
Our  Lord  what  the  Cardinals  are  morally  to 
the  Sovereign  Pontiff.  He  is  a  prince  oi 
the  blood,  the  intimate  companion  ot  Our 
Lord. 

To.  religious,  the  Father  confides  His  Di- 
vine Son  and  Mary,  as  He  did  to  Saint  John. 


30  THE     RELIGIOUS     STATE. 

He  places  m  their  hands  the  salvation  of 
souls.  Yes,  He  intrusts  religious  with  the 
salvation  of  the  world.  To  save  souls,  to 
be  the  victim  of  salvation  and  of  life  for  the 
world,  is  the  essence  of  the  religious  grace. 
He  creates  religious  the  apostles  and  chiefs 
of  His  chosen  people.  And  for  us  in  par- 
ticular, see  what  honor  He  does  us  by  con- 
fiding to  us  all  His  poor  children!  People 
hand  over  the  educat  on  of  those  whom  they 
love  particularly  only  to  safe  and  experienced 
masters.  Well,  He  gives  to  us  to  save,  pre- 
serve, mstruct  the  poor,  His  dearest  children 
And  so,  the  religious  life  gives  us  the  pleni 
tude  of  the  grace  of  our  apostolate,  the 
most  beautiful  of  all  on  earth. 

See,  now,  whether  we  ought  not  to  be  saints 
Alas!    it  is  sad  to  see  where  we  are! 

We  must,  then,  sanctify  ourselves  in  good 
earnest;  otherwise,  how  shall  we  worthil> 
respond  to  this  word:  "God  has  loved  me 
with  a  love  of  preference,"  if  not  by  saying. 
"I  wiU  Jove  Him  without  reserve!" 

Our  grace  is  so  much  greater  as  we  form 
the  beginning  and  the  foundation  of  our  So- 


THE     RELIGIOUS    STATE.  31 

ciety.  We  shall  not  have  so  much  glory  as 
those  that  will  come  after  us,  but  we  shall 
have  more  merit.  Our  successors  will  live 
on  the  fruits  of  our  labors  and  sacrifices. 
As  for  us,  let  us  live  of  the  pure  love  of  God, 
and  sacrifice  ourselves  to  our  work.  Calvary 
is  of  greater  value  than  Thaborl 

If  there  are  still  in  our  Society  things  in- 
determinate, undeveloped,  not  yet  well  order- 
ed, little  and  humble,  let  us  love  them.  It 
will  be  our  glory  to  have  been  nothing,  to 
have  made  no  show,  and  to  have  served  God 
and  our  work  amid  the  difficulties  of  for- 
mation. 

We  have  the  grace  of  the  present  time. 
Our  Lord  allows  Himself  to  be  seen  in  the 
Blessed  Sacrament  for  the  salvation  of  the 
world.  He  will  act  through  us  upon  the 
people.  We  know  that  the  world  can  be 
reformed  only  by  the  miserable.  The  majori- 
ty of  those  that  hold  the  first  places  in 
learning,  in  science,  in  social  position,  are 
gangrened  by  vice  or  wandering  in  indif 
ference  and  rationalism.  Too  often  success 
follows  on  vice.    On  the  other  side,  the  hatred 


32  THE     RELIGIOUS     STATE. 

of  the  poor,  of  those  that  suffer  far  from  God, 
threatens  to  consume  everythmg  'm  a  horrible 
conflagration.  That  hatred  n;ust  be  stamped 
out ;  the  clay  of  the  people  must  be  kneaded 
agam,  and  mto  it  breathed  the  breath  of 
Jesus  Christ  The  poor  must  be  -led  back  to 
God,  and  God  restored  to  the  poor.  This  is 
our  mission.  Let  us  seek,  ol^  let  us  seek 
the  lowly,  and  give  to  them  their  Brother, 
their    Father,    and   their   Saviour  1 


PRAYER, 


^    Its  NECESSITY  and  CHARACTER. 


^ 


Oportet  orare  et  nunquam  deficree. 
We  ought  always  to  pray,  and  not 
to  faint. 


JRAYER,  incessant  prayer,  otherwise  call- 
ed the  habit  of  prayer,  is  necessary 
for  every  Christian.  All  have  received  the 
grace  of  prayer  in  Baptism.  It  is  the  Holy 
Spirit  who  inspires  us  to  cry  to  God:  "Abba 
Fater — Father,  Father  1"  It  is  the  gift,  the 
grace,  the  privilege  of  all.  We  'can  do  no 
good,  practise  no  virtue  without  prayer,  which 
obtains  for  us  the  grace  of  goodness  and 
virtue.  Prayer  is  the  foundation  of  all  the 
virtues,  and  faith  itself,  the  beginning  of 
justice,  it  but  the  exercise  of  prayer. 

The  prophet,  therefore,  thanked  God  for 
leaving  him  in  the  midst  of  his  weaknesses, 
his  tribulations  and  falls,  the  faculty  of  prayer, 
and  he  says:  '' Benedictus  Deus,  qui  non  amo- 
vit  orationem  meam  et  misericordiam  suam  a 
me — Blessed   be   God,    who   hath    not   turned 


34   PRAYER,     ITS     NECESSITY,     CHARACTER. 

away  my  prayer  nor  His  mercy  from  mel" 
as  if  to  be  able  to  pray  and  to  obtain  mercy 
were  one  and  the  same  thing.  He  com 
prehends  the  importance  of  prayer,  and  that 
to  pray  is  to  possess  the  Heart  of  God  and 
the  salvation  of  one's  soul. 

But  prayer  must  be  made  with  confidence, 
and  confidence  is  breathed  into  us  by  the 
Holy  Spirit  Himself.  It  is  He  who  gives  us 
The  spirit  of  the  children  of  adoption,  that 
childlike  confidence  which  makes  us  turn  to 
God  as  to  a  Father.  It  is  given  co  us  as 
a  permanent  gift  and  a  habit  which  we  ought 
to   exercise. 

It  is  in  grace  'as  in  the  order  qi  nature 
The  child  is  essentially  prayerful.  It  is  the 
need  of  the  child  to  supplicate  its  mother,  to 
address  itself  to  her  to  obtain  all  it  wants. 
It  does  so  with  confidence,  and  that  is  a 
proof  of  its  love.  A  mother  is  saddened  and 
complains  that  her  child  never  asks  her  for 
anything  She  augurs  from  that  that  he  does 
not  love  her,  and  she  is  right. 

Let  us,  then,  ask  of  the  good  God,  put  His 
goodness    into   play.     What   will    He   do   with 


PRAYER,     ITS    NECESSITY,     CHARACTER.    35 

graces  with  which  His  hands  are  filled,  if 
we  da  not  ask  Him  for  them?  Here  is  a 
good  idea,  and  one  fruitful  in  practice,  that 
is,  we  must  make  use  of  God's  bounty, 
occupy  it  actively  in  distributing  graces  by 
asking  them  of  Him  confidently.  We  always 
want  to  go  to  God  by  way  of  our  misery. 
Doubtless,  before  God  one  should  not  be 
without  humility.  Let  us  not,  however,  remain 
too, much  in  our  lowliness.  Let  us  think  that, 
although  a  sinner,  we  are  always  the  son, 
and  He  is  the  Father.  Let  us  not  always 
be  like  mendicants  groaning  at  the  gate  and 
exposing  our  miseries.  We  must  remember 
our  title  of  son,  the  most  beautiful,  the  most 
influential  of  all  our  names. 

Strong  in  this  confidence,  let  us  address 
ourselves  to  Mary :  "  Good  Mother,  I  come 
to  thee  with  confidence,  for  thou  must  be  to 
me  the  Queen  of  Mercy !  " 

Say  to  Jesus  Christ :  "  Good  Master,  who 
hast  suffered  so  much  for  me,  let  me  not 
lose  the  fruit  of  Thy  sufferings!  Apply  them 
to   me   Thyself   abundantly. 

"  O   good  Jesus,  Thou  hast  acquired  treas- 


36   PRAYER,     ITS     NECESSITY,     CHARACTER. 

ures  of  merits,  and  Thou  hast  no  greater 
desire  than  to  give  me  a  share  in  them 
Follow,  then,  the  inclination  of  Thy  Heart 
Save  me.  give  me  to  Thy  Father!  I  will 
be  the  trophy  of  Thy  victory.  Thy  glory 
will  become  brighter.  For  Thy  name  and  for 
Thy  glory,   hearken   to  my  prayer!" 

Prayer  is,  then,  all-powerful.  Instead  of 
supporting  it  on  our  misery,  it  should  be 
based  on  God  Himself;  instead  of  being  a 
distasteful  contemplation  of  our  own  wretched- 
ness, It  should  become  a  combat  of  love. 
Behold    the   gift    of   prayer! 

II.  —  Many  say.  "  I  know  not  how  to  pray; 
and  if  I  did  receive  the  gift  in  Baptism,'  I 
do  not  know  how  to  exercise  it,  " 

There  is  much  illusion  in  this  plea.  Prayer 
is  not  a  mountain  to  be  climbed.  One  must 
proceed  more  simply  than  that.  Let  us  pray, 
then,  with  our  grace  of  the  moment,  with 
our  grace  of  state.  Let  us  pray  by  our 
titles  of  religious  and  priests,  presenting  our- 
selves such  as  we  are,  employing  the  little 
means,  the  faculties,  such  as  they  are,  that 
the  good   God  has  given   us. 


PRAYER,    ITS    NECESSITY,    CHARACTER.    37 

I  may  say  that  our  state,  as  religious,  is 
a  state,  a  profession  of  prayer.  Let  us  perfect 
ourselves  in  our  profession.  Men  of  the 
world  have  a  wonderful  talent  for  perfecting 
themselves  in  their  calling,  whatever  it  may 
be.  They  are  constantly  inventing,  shortening 
the  time  of  manufacturing,  rendering  it  less 
laborious,  less  costly.  They  are  always  bring- 
ing out  more  beautiful,  more  convenient 
things.  Shall  we  be  they  who  will  always 
remain  unskilful  in  the  lise  of  the  instruments 
belonging  to  their  profession?  Shall  we  never 
know  how  to  say  anything  but  Paters  and 
Aves  ?  Shall  all  our  meditation  be  limited  to 
the  examen  of  conscience,  to  reckoning  up 
our  faults,  to  gazing  upon  and  rehearsing 
our    miseries? 

We  should  make  of  prayer  a  practical 
virtue,  a  virtue  of  every  instant,  whose  acts 
should  be  easy  and,-  as  it  were,  natural. 
Nothing  supplies  for  this  virtue.  Such  the 
prayer,  such  the  life.  Ille  recte  vivere  novif, 
qui  recte  novit  orare.  If  we  pray  badly,  we 
shall  lead  a  poor  religious  life,  nothing  will 


38   PRAYER,     ITS     NECESSITY,     CHARACTER. 

Superior.  This  exercise  should  excel  all  others 
in  fervor  and  assiduity.  The  prayers  of  Rule, 
first  and  indispensable,  do  not  ordinarily 
suffice  to  sustain  the  fervor  of  the  interior 
life.  They  are  made  only  at  regular  intervals. 
Now,  it  is  necessary  that  prayer  should  never 
be  discontinued.  For  this  reason,  in  practice, 
one  should  always  have  on  hand  some  sup- 
plementary prayers,  some  novena.  for  in- 
stance, over  and  above  those  of  our  profession, 
some  devotion  suited  to  the  time  or  to  the 
state  of  the  soul.  The  saints  ised  to  do  this. 
Again,  we  must  vary  the  same  prayer  by 
directing  its  intention  sometimes  upon  one 
subject,  sometimes  on  another,  for  it  would 
not  be  profitable,  it  would  even  be  dan- 
gerous, to  want  always  to  add  new  formulas 
of  prayers  to  the  old  ones.  But  it  is  well 
to  vary  the  intention  of  our  prayer  according 
to  circumstances.  There  are  some  simple 
souls  who  with  their  Rosary,  obtain  all 
graces,  are  enlightened  in  all  things  with 
special  lights.  It  is  because  they  have  a  very 
special  intention. 
In     prayer     one     must     have    an    inventive 


PRAYER,     ITS     NECESSITY,     CHARACTER.    39^ 

talent,  and  acquire  the  facility  of  making  his 
prayer  himself.  Such  prayer  works  miracles, 
because  it  springs  from  the  depths  of  the: 
heart,  from  the  heart  supernaturaliz-ed  by  the 
presence  of  charity,  by  the  grace  of  the  Holy 
Spirit.  Let  us  look  to  this,  we  who  make 
such  efforts  to  find  the  way  to  pray,  as  if 
prayer  could  be  produced  by  our  own  mind 
and  our  own  natural  heart.  I  know  not  what 
pride  seeks  to  persuade  us  that  it  is  we  who 
should  pray,  and  it  is  on  that  account  we 
thmk  it  necessary  to  make  those  extraordinary 
efforts.  Ah!  it  is  the  Holy  Spirit  who  de- 
sires to  pray  in  us!  Of  ourselves,  we  are 
incapable  of  doing  so;  but  the  Spirit  of 
Jesus  Christ,  who  abides  in  us,  wishes  to  help 
our  impotence  and  to  pray  by  His  ineffable 
groanings.  Then,  let  this  Spirit  of  love  speak 
and  pray.  The  prayer  that  comes  from  Him 
is  the  true  and  good  prayer  of  the  heart, 
that  which  penetrates  the-  heavens  and  obtains 
all  that  it  asks.  Prayer  is,  then,  a  thing- 
far  more  simple  than  the  demon  represents  to 
us!  To  be  silent,  to  destroy  obstacles,  in 
order  to  let  the  Holy  Spirit  pray  in  us,  and 


40   PRAYER,     ITS     NECESSITY,     CHARACTER. 

to  unite  with  the  prayer  that  He  is  making  in 
us,  —  behold  the   exercise  and   the   virtue   of 


prayer 


III.  —  Only  be  constant  in  prayer  and  in 
exercising  this  so  necessary  virtue. 

There  are  some  prayers  that  we  ought  not 
easily  to  abandon,  some  old  formulas  of 
childhood  whose  antiquity  makes  their  virtue. 
They  form,  as  it  were,  a  part  of  our  soul. 
Keep  them,  provided  you  have  not  too 
weighty  a  baggage  of  them.  With  siill 
greater  reason  shun  loading  yourself  with  all 
those  new  prayers  which  are  multiplying  on 
all  sides,  and  with  whose  composition  every 
one  busies  himself.  Above  all,  guard  against 
prayers  composed  by  women.  They  inundate 
the  avenues  of  piety.  They  are  not  always 
secure  from  error,  not  always  perfectly  or- 
thodox. Imagination  plays  a  great  part  in 
them.  And  would  you  be  willing  to  form 
your  prayer  of  errors  in  Faith,  your  prayer 
which  is  your  preservative,  your  means  of 
intimate  union  with  God!  In  practice,  show, 
submit  all  new  prayers  to  your  Superior. 
His  grace  will  know  how  to  distinguish  the 


PRAYER,     ITS    NECESSITY,     CHARACTER.     41 

true  from  the  false  and,  among  so  many 
unsubstantial  and  deceptive  viands,  that  which 
is  proper  for  you. 

Again,  do  not  place  all  your  confidence 
in  prayer-books.  Without  doubt,  they  are 
good  and  useful.  They  help,  I  know,  but 
they  also  greatly  foster  laziness.  I  say  this 
to  you,  on  account  of  the  respect  this  holy 
thing,  yoiu*  prayer,  your  intimate  relations 
with  God  deserve.  There  are  so  many  en- 
lightened in  our  day.  They  think  themselves 
enlightened  by  God.  But  it  is  only  their  own 
excited  imagination  that  deludes  them  and 
makes  them  prophesy,  for  they  have  not 
received  their  spirit  of  prophecy  from  the 
Holy    Ghost. 

Pray  by  your  grace  of  faith.  Ah,  to  pray 
by  faith,  by  submission  to  the  will  of  God. 
in  adoration  of  His  Being,  His^  grandeur.  His 
beauty,  and  goodness, — that  is  not  subject 
to  illusion! 

Pray  with  your  heart,  and  submit  to  the 
rays  of  grace  and  love  your  prayer,  your 
sentiments,  all  that  comes  forth  from  that 
heart. 

THe  Divine  EucharisL 


42    PRAYER,     ITS    NECESSITY,     CHARACTER. 

As  to  vocal  prayers,  never  neglect  those 
of  the  Rule,  but  do  not  take  up  many  more. 

Pray  also  with  the  mind,  by  submitting  it 
to  the  grace  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  the  Spirit 
of  prayer.  Form  in  yourself,  as  it  were,  a 
perpetual  creation  of  good  thoughts,  but  join 
affection  to  it,  for  the  mind  by  itself  would 
soon  succumb  under  the  labor  and  fatigue. 

The  saints  are  admirable  in  drawdng  prayer- 
ful affections  from  everything  and  every- 
where. It  is  because  they  abide  in  God. 
They  see  ever>'thing  in  Him.  Everything 
raises  them  to  Him  and  excites  them  to  love 
Him.  Prayer  is  their  inspiration  and  expira- 
tion, the  movement  of  their  affection  toward 
God  admits,  undergoes  no  interruption,  and 
in  this  way  they  realize  the  words:  "  Oportet 
semper    orare  —  We    must   pray    always." 

We  cannot  always  have  new  thoughts,  but 
we  can  always  direct  our  affection  toward 
God.  The  heart  is  united  to  all  our  faculties 
and  devotes  itself  to  all.  Along  with  their 
uninterrupted  prayer,  the  saints  found  time 
to  compose  magnificent  works,  to  traverse 
the  world,  and  to  discharge  an  indefatigable 


PRAYER,     ITS     NECESSITY,     CHARACTER.     43 

ministry.  They  prayed  with  heart  and  affec- 
tion, they  converted  all  their  labors  into 
prayer. 

To  reach-  that  point,  one  must  will  it,  ask 
it  urgently  of  God  as  the  grace  of  graces. 
One  must  make  frequent  acts  of  it  with 
some  exterior  assent  which  will  recall  his 
resolution,  and  oblige  himself  to  some 
exterior  signs  that  will  arouse  his  attention. 


si^jSR  2^  •a^i&2^^i^j^^2a&2^i^ji&^»fi^»a^^^ ; 


PRAYER, 


the  GIFT  of  our  INTELLECT. 


RAYER  is  the  homage  of  the  whole 
man,  of  his  being  and  all  his  faculties 
to  God.  It  ought,  then,  to  begin  by  an 
offering  of  self  to  the  Di\ine  Majesty.  By 
that  we  enter  into  the  true  spirit  of  prayer. 
It  is  a  visit  of  homage,  a  recognition  of 
God's  greatness  and  our  own  dependence. 
The  first  thing  to  do  is,  then,  to  prostrate 
interiorly  and  exteriorly,  in  order  to  offer  to 
God  the  homage  of  our  whole  being,  our 
soul,    our   intellect,   and   our  heart. 

This  homage  ought  to  be  deep  and  silent. 
It  is  the  act.  of  annihilated  adoration,  just 
as  in  heaven,  they  say  not  a  word,  and  yet 
they  say   everything. 

The  first  thing,  then,  is  to  be  silent,  to 
adore,  and  to  annihilate  one's  self  before  God 

I.  —  But  after  that  begins  the  meditation 
properly  so  called,  which  is  the  exercise  of 
the  sanctification  of  oui*  faculties.  Here  the 
mind,    the    heart,    and    the    will    act.    As    for 


PRAYER,  THE  GIFT  OF  INTELLECT.    45 

^he  body,  it  must  be  lulled  to  rest  as*  much 
as  possible,  left  in  repose.  If  it  is  made  to 
suffer  too  much,  it  will  disturb  the  action 
of  the  faculties. 

The  first  faculty  that  ought  to  be  exercised 
in  prayer  is  our  mind,  our  understanding, 
our  reason.  This  faculty,  which  perceives  the 
relations  of  things,  which  seizes  on  them, 
gives  birth  to  our  knowledge. 

Now,  it  is  necessary  to  sanctify  the  mind, 
supernaturalize  the  intelligence.  One's  spir- 
itual education  is  made  only  by  God  Himself, 
in  converse  with  Him,  in  prayer.  Every  mind 
that  has  not  received  lessons  from  God  in 
prayer,  which  has  not  been  trained  and 
reformed  by  prayer,  will  have  an  education 
wanting  in  the  supernatural.  Put  no  great 
confidence  in  him  who  is  not  accustomed 
to  the  practice  of  this  exercise.  All  that 
books  and  masters  can  teach  is  but  the 
method  of  prayer.  They  introduce  into  the 
sanctuary,  but  man  must  give  up  his  mind 
to  God.  It  is  God  alone  who  can  fill  it 
with  His  divine  light  and  render  his  educa> 
don  supernatural. 


46   PRAYER,  THE  GIFT  OF  INTELLECT. 

This  alone  can  form  serious  souls.  With- 
out prayer,  they  who  receive  Our  Lord  in 
Communion  will  never  know  how  to  converse 
with  Him.  Our  Lord  will  not  penetrate  into 
their  understanding,  which  is  not  open  to  Him. 
He  will  remain,  as  it  were,  in  the  ante- 
chamber He  will  not  enter  into  the  depths 
of  their  heart.  Their  soul  will  not  be 
nourished  by  Him,  will  not  live  on.  Him.  will 
never  be  transformed  into  Him,  abandoning 
her  own  natural  life,  her  judgnients  and  affec- 
tions,in  order  to  put  on  the  life;thoughts, affec- 
tions,  and   virtues    of   Jesus    Christ    Himgelf. 

To  return  to  what  I  was  saying,  in  order  to 
meditate,  begin  by  forming  thoughts  and 
considerations  in  the  understanding.  Study, 
consider  attentively,  recall,  compare,  strike  the 
flint  in  order  to  get  the  brilliant  spark.  This 
exercise  of  the  understanding  is  essential.  It 
is  what  produces  the  affection  of  the  heart. 
It  Is  more  important  than  the  affections  them- 
selves, which  can  neither  be  enkindled  nor 
be  lasting,  if  the  understanding,  which  is 
their  furnace,  is  not  well  fed.  In  heaven,  it 
is    the    sight    of    God    that    produces    union, 


PRAYER,  THE  GIFT  OF  INTELLECT.    47 

transformation,  happiness.  The  knowledge  of 
an  object  produces  that  object  in  us,  and 
we  can  feel  the  intellectual  contact  of  a  thing 
without  adhering  to  it  in  heart  and  affection. 
All,  then,  depends  on  knowledge.  It  is  the 
foundation  of  prayer,  its  source,  its  furnace. 
To  see  is  to  love,  to  possess. 

If  the  piety  of  our  days  is  so  languishing,  so 
shallow,  it  is  because  people  attach  them- 
selves too  much  to  its  practices,  neglecting 
the  principle.  They  warm  the  sentiments, 
they  set  the  imagination  boiling.  They  do 
not  force  themselves  to  reflect  sufficiently, 
to  study,  to  fathom,  and  so  they  fall  into 
the  piety  of  routine.  The  heart  and  the  will 
turn  to  them  by  a  kind  of  instinct  and 
need,  which  they  have  contracted,  but  there 
is  nothing  solid,  nothing  deep,  nothing  very 
generous  about  it.  There  is  wanting  to  them 
the  food  of  the  understanding,  which  would 
furnish  new  motives,  renew  them  constantly, 
manifest  God  more  clearly,  as  well  as  all 
that  we  owe  Him. 

The  understanding  is  the  seat  of  faith.  It 
is    faith    that    receives    the    imprint    of    God, 


48   PRAYER,  THE  GIFT  OF  INTELLECT. 

which  communicates  it  to  the  heart;  and  it 
IS  in  faith,  above  all,  that  God  abides,  much 
more  than  in  the  heart  and  the  will.  The; 
emotions  of  the  heart  are  constantly  changing. 
The  will  has  more  or  less  enthusiasm  ac- 
cording to  change  of  circumstances.  But  the 
light  of  faith  is  invariable.  It  comes  from 
the  truth  of  God,  it  rests  on  what  He  is, 
on  His  word,  and  it  rules  all  the  dispositions, 
all    the   states    of    the   soul. 

It  is  this  light  of  faith  that  upholds  the 
soul,  elevates,  and  directs  it.  It  is  the  rec 
ompense  of  fidelity.  "  He  that  keepeth  My 
commandments,  "  says  the  Saviour,...  "  I  will 
come,  and  I  will  manifest  Myself  to  him.  " 
This  is  the  light  that  He  promises.  This 
light  of  faith  is  never  extinguished.  No 
human  blast  can  put  it  out.  It  is  the  beacon 
which  is  seen  immovable  in  the  most  violent 
tempests  of  the  heart  and  the  senses.  Deeply 
rooted  in  us,  enkindled  in  us  by  the  Holy 
Spirit  Himself,  there  it  remains  in  spite  of 
all  disturbances. 

I  do  not  mean  to  say  that  the  understanding 
must  be  so  entirely  separated  from  the  heart 


PRAYER,  THE  GIFT  OF  INTELLECT,    49 

that  we  are  satisfied  with  the  light  of  the 
former  alone.  No,  on  the  contrary,  the  light 
received,  formed  in  the  understanding,  should 
descend  to  the  heart  and  there  be  prepared, 
so  that  the  will  may  derive  from  it  the  fresh 
strength  that  it  needs.  We  are  one,  and  we 
can  not  isolate  our  faculties  one  from  another. 
They  depend  on  one  another,  they  help  one 
another,  and  they  are  all  necessary  to  perfect 
our  vital  operations.  But  what  I  want  to  say 
is  this  -that  we  must  use  the  understanding 
actively,  fill  it  with  God  by  faith,  because 
it  is  the  beginning  and  the  principle  of  all. 
Before  digesting  nourishment  and  using  the 
strength  it  imparts  to  the  body,  one  must 
first  receive  it,  take  it,  and  that,  too,  is  the 
function  of  the  understanding. 

Saint  Paul,  converted  by  Jesus  Christ,  is  in 
the  very  moment  of  his  conversion  a  perfect 
image  of  meditation.  The  Lord  threw  him  to 
the  ground  and  made  Himself  known.  "  Quis 
es,  Domine?  — Who  art  Thou,  Lord?"  He 
touches  him  at  once:  "I  am  Jesus,  but  Jesus 
whom  thou  persecutest.  "  Paul's  heart  is  mov- 
ed,  he   sees   Jesus,   Jesus    crucified,    and   his. 


50   PRAYER,  THE  GIFT  OF  INTELLECT. 

will  is  inflamed:  "Lord,  what  wilt  Thou  have 
me    do  ?  *' 

n.  —  How  ought  we  to  exercise  our  under- 
standing ?  In  the  first  place,  we  must  prepare 
our  subject  of  prayer.  It  is  absolutely  nec- 
essary for  us  to  know  what  it  is  going  to 
be.  It  is  not  necessary  to  know  beforehand 
all  that  we  shall  say,  but  it  is  necessary  to 
know  exactly  upon  what  we  are  going  to 
meditate. 

After  that  we  must  proceed  from  the  known 
to  the  unkno\vn,  from  the  natural  to  the 
supernatural,  that  is  to  say,  we  must  make 
use  of  all  that  we  know  to  facilitate  the 
study  of  the  truth  we  are  proposing  to  our- 
selves. 

We  always  have  some  thoughts,  some  re- 
membrance of  reading  ^r  lessons  on  the 
mysteries  and  truths  of  religion.  We  may 
make  use  of  them  in  the  beginning,  ap- 
plying them  to  our  subject.  They  will  shed 
greater  light  by  being  brought  to  bear  upon 
the  truth  under  actual  consideration.  It  has 
its  grace.  Touched,  struck,  it  will  give  out 
its   spark.    Little  by  little,   the  light   will  be- 


PRAYER,  THE  GIFT  OF  INTELLECT.    51 

come  greater,  and  Our  Lord  will  manifest 
Himself  to  our  good  will. 

We  may  set  out  at  least  with  our  misery, 
^ith  some  negative  truth,  if  we  have  no 
positive  one  upon  the  mystery  or  the  truth 
tve  are  considering.  See  how  wanting  it  is 
to  us,  how  far  we  are  from  it,  how  for- 
bidding the  contrary  vice.  Discover  some- 
thing. Establish  some  connection  that  will  fix 
our  mind  on  our  subject.  When  the  un- 
derstanding is  once  fixed  on  it,  it  will  always 
end  by  being  penetrated  more  or  less  by  it, 
for  grace  faitMully  responds  to  the  humble 
and    upright    good  will. 

Only  let  us  not  try  to  do  more  than  our 
intellectual  strength  permits,  nor  seek  to  make 
the  meditations  of  Bossuet,  if  we  have  not 
his  genius.  Let  us  hold  on  to  these  two  keys 
of  meditation,  these  two  methods,  one  by 
negative  truth,  the  other  by  positive  truth. 

The  first  starts  from  the  knowledge  of  our 
nothingness,  our  sins,  our  temptations,  in  'a 
word,  our  misery.  The  soul  that  starts  from 
this  truth,  that  begins  her  meditation  by  it, 
always  has,  enough   to   occupy   her.    She  has 


52       PRAYER,  THE  GIFT  OF  INTELLECT. 

always  a  familiar  point  upon  which  to  plant 
her  foot,  and  from  it  to  take  flight  toward  the 
divine  truths.  This  is  the  easiest  method.  It 
is  good,  because  it  plunges  us  into  humility, 
and  it  is  always  profitable  to  place  under 
our  eyes  our  own  abjection,  in  order  not  to 
lose  sight   of   our  origin. 

The  positive  method,  on  the  contrary,  enters 
at  once  into  the  truth  considered  in  itself. 
into  the  love  of  the  mystery.  It  confines 
itself,  above  all,  to  exalting  God,  to  acknowl- 
edging His  love,  His  attributes  in  such  or 
such  a  mystery.  His  perfections  in  such  or 
such  a  virtue,  the  glory  that  redounds  to  Him 
from  it,  the  perfection  with  which  Jesus  Christ 
practised   it. 

If,  for  example,  we  are  meditating  on  the 
death  of  Our  Lord,  the  method  of  positive 
love  leads  us  to  think  at-  once  on  the  immense 
love  He  has  shown  us,  and  to  offer  to  God  the 
glory  which  His  justice  and  majesty  derived 
from  it.  It  is  love,  glory,  God  or  Jesui 
Christ  in  themselves  that  it  offers  for  our 
contemplation. 

By  the  former  method,  the  soul  beholds  in 


PRAYER,  THE  GIFT  OF  INTELLECT.    53 

that  death  only  her  sins  which  caused  it  and, 
in  self-examination,  she  seeks  to  find  out 
which  of  them  was  the  special  cause  of  the 
sufferings  and  death  of  the  Man-God.  Then 
she   plunges    into    regret,    self-humiliation. 

In  this  way.  the  positive  adores,  exalts  God 
in  herself;  the  negative  beholds  herself  in 
God. 

Which  is  preferable  ?  To  establish  any  com- 
parison between  two  methods  which  come 
from  the  Spirit  of  God,  and  which  lead  to 
Him,  is  not  necessary.  In  practice,  the  one 
must   not  be  separated  from  the  other. 

But  what  we  may  say  to  you,  to  you  who 
were  not  converted  yesterday,  is  that,  if  you 
desire  to  be  more  quickly  recollected,  more 
immediately  united  to  God,  it  is  far  better 
not  to  concentrate  yourselves  in  yourselves, 
and  not  always  to  put  your  miseries  between 
your  soul  and  God.  Be  more  desirous  of 
seeing  His  goodness,  His  love,  of  contem- 
■plating  Him  in  Himself  and  in  His  divine 
attributes.  You  will  come  afterward  to. self. 
Love  to  see  the  virtue  in  Jesus  Christ,  lo 
study  the  perfection  and  intention  with  which 


54   PRAYER,  THE  GIFT  OF  INTELLECT. 

He  practised  it;  in  a  word,  nourish  your 
soul  with  God  alone.  That  will  raise  you 
nearer  to  Him,  give  you  a  greater  force  of 
expansion.  Allow  Our  Lord  to  place  you  in 
the  negative,  show  you  your  miseries,  and 
plunge  you  into  your  nothingness.  Thus  it 
was  that  on  Thabor  He  entertained  His 
Apostles  with  the  excess  of  His  sufferings  and 
humiliations  in  the  midst  of  the  splendors 
that    environed   Him. 

Keep  the  negative  method  for  the  hours 
of  labor,  weariness,  impotence,  when  your 
mind  has  not  the  strength  to  soar  to  the 
heights  on  which  to  contemplate  pure  truth, 
to  see  God  and  things  in  their  divine  causes. 

There  will  result  from  this  practice  less  loss 
of  time  in  prayer.  You  will  be  more  refined 
toward  God,  and  you  will  discharge  more 
properly  the  duties  of  friendship,  you  will  be 
less  egotistical;  for  there  are  some  souls  who 
never  say  a  word  to  Our  Lord  about  Himself, 
who  hardly  salute  Him,  who  -have  no  hom- 
age to  present  Him,  but  are  occupied  only 
with  themselves  and  their  needs,  who  present 
themselves  only   to  begin  at  once  to  beg  at 


PRAYER,  THE  GIFT  OF  INTELLECT    55 

the   very   door.    Be   a   son!    Love   and   con- 
verse I 

You  will  give  pleasure  to  Oui-  Lord  by 
speaking  of  Himself,  by  entering  a  little  into 
His  interests.  You  will  touch  His  Heart, 
like  the  leper  who  alone  of  the  ten  returned 
to  thank  for  his  cure.  Jesus  praised  him  for 
having  rendered  glory  to  God.  That  poor 
leper  is  an  example  of  positive  love  in 
prayer.  See  how  sensible  Our  Lord  was  of 
it!    Then  do  you,  also,  give  glory  to  God! 


PRAYER, 


The  GIFT  of  OUR  HEART. 


'e  have  said  that  meditation  is  the 
homage  of  man  and  all  his  faculties  to 
God,  and  the  sanctification  of  man  by  God. 
We  have  seen  how  the  understanding  ought  to 
comport  itself  therein.  Now  let  us  speak  of 
the  heart. 

I.  —  The  understanding  performs  the  office 
of  the  needle  which  introduces  the  thread 
into  the  fabric  there  to  design  the  embroidery. 
The  needle  enters  first,  drawing  after  it  the 
thread,  but  only  the  thread  remains;  thus  it 
is  with  the  affection  of  the  heart.  It  must 
remain.  We  excite  the  intelligence  only  to 
warm  and  move  the  heart  by  motives  of  faith 
and  love  the  most  capable  of  touching  it, 
for  the  heart  follows  and  embraces  what  the 
understanding  esteems  and  shows  to  it  as 
good. 

The  affection  must,  then,  be  in  accord  with 
the  reflection,  be  a  natural  consequence  of 
It.     It    should    be   its    complement   and,   as   it 


PRAYEK,    THE    GIFT    OF    OUK    HEAR  I.       57 

were,  its  expanding,  its  blossoming.  l'"ew 
thoughts  are  sufficient  to  make  a  good  niedi-' 
tation.  The  affection  ought  to  take  the 
thought  well  conceived,  well  ruminated,  and 
hold  on  to  it,  completing  and  amplifying  it, 
nourishing  itself  with  it.  The  thought  ought  to 
pass  from  the  understandmg  to  the  heart  with- 
out effort.  Guard  agaiust  raising  a  struggle  and 
wearing  your  soul  out  by  too  many  different 
reflections.  Give  to  your  heart  to  ruminate, 
only  those  thoughts  that  your;  understanding 
has  already  weighed  and  prepared.  Be  batis' 
fled  with  developing  by  the  heart  the  thought 
which  was  in  your  mind.  Simply  convert  it 
into  affection. 

Let  the  affection,  then,  be  born  naturally, 
from  the  thought,  and  be  conformed  to  the 
nature  of  your  lieart.  Let  us  love  God  m 
prayer  as  we  love  them  whom  we  ought  to 
love.  Let  us  love  with  our,  heart,  according 
to  its  nature,  its  strength,  its  life,  more  or. 
less  ai'dently,  with  more  tenderness  or  more 
constraint.  Time,  age.  circumstances  change 
the  heart  infinitely.  Grace  knows  how  to  con- 
form Itself  to  the  temperament  of  every  one. 

The  Divine  Eucharist.  S 


58     PRAYER,    THE    GIFT    OF    OUR    HEART. 

It  is  neither  temperament  nor  nature  that 
God  desires  ns  to  crush  in  ourselves,  but  sin, 
the  inclinations  and  the  habits  that  come 
from  it. 

II.  —  Natural,  that  is,  conforming  itself,  in 
as  much  as  we  form  it  in  ourselves,  to  our 
individual  nature.  The  affection  ought  to  be- 
come  supernatural  by  its  union  \vith  divine 
grace,  which  elevates  and  purifies  it,  and  by- 
its  correspondence  to.  the  movements  of  the 
Holy  Spirit. 

We  have  three  ways  of  supernaturalizing 
affection:  to  unite  it  to  the  light  of  actual 
grace  which  the  Holy  Spirit  excites  in  us; 
to  allow  it  to  follow  the  movement  of  the 
Holy  Spirit  in  us;  and  when  we  feel  neither 
the  call  nor  the  interior  movement  of  grace, 
the  affection  must  be  supernaturalized  by 
the  acceptance  and  the  offering  of  the  state 
in  which  we  are.  You  feel  nothing?  Confess 
in  your  heart  your  misery,  your  paralysis, 
your  impotence,  and  even  your  sins.  God 
will  receive  this  confession  of  the  humbled 
heart  It  will  take  the  place  of  the  sweetest 
and  most  exalted  affections.    It  is  He  Him- 


PRAYER,    THE    GIFT    OF    OUR    HEART.      59 

self  who  sends  that  impotence  in  order  to 
detach  you  from  reflections  to  which,  perhaps, 
you  attach  yourself  too  nmch.  He  casts  you 
to  llie  earth  and  withers  you,  in  order  to 
prevent  your  wanderinj^  in  self-love.  God's 
desire  would  be  to  press  you  to  His  Heart, 
but  your  good  demands  that  He  keep  you 
under  His  feet,  and  empty  your  heart  of 
every  sentiment  of  love. 

Humble  your  heart  in  this  state,  until  grace 
visits   you  anew. 

Affection  must  descend  from  general  to 
particular,  and  the  soul  apply  herself  to  taste 
the  special  ^nd  particular  love  of  God  to  her 
irx  the  mystery  which  the  understanding 
presents.  You  have  admired  the  ineffable 
mystery  of  Jesus  Christ  in  the  Most  Blessed 
Sacrament.     Now,     exclaim    in    your    heart: 

Oh,  how  good  Thou  art  to  remain  there 
for,  mel"  Place  clearly  before  your  heart 
the  personal  benefits  of  God  to  you.  Show- 
it  that  everything  in  the  life,  sufferings, 
death,  and  love  of  Jesus  Christ  is  for  you, 
for.  you  alone.  It  will  be  consumed  before 
the  burning  furnace  of  God's  love.    It  will  in. 


60     PRAYER,    THE   GIFT   OF   OUR   HEART. 

rapture  exclaim:  "He  has  loved  m^I  He  has 
loved  I'nel"  The  conclusion  of  this  love  will 
be:  "Who  shall  ever  separate  me  from  Him 
who  loves  me  and  whom   I   love?" 

I  have  said  that  it  is  not  necessary  to  medi- 
tate much  in  order  to  arrive  at  affection- 
Here,  however,  we  must  guard  against  sloth. 
The  mmd  is  slothful  regarding  the  things  of 
grace.  It  must  not  be  allowed  t6  pass  too 
easily  over  the  reflection.  It  would  willingly 
act  like  the  tribune  Felix,  who  trembled  for 
fear  of  being  enlightened  by  Saint  Paul  on 
a  truth  that  he  did  not  wish  to  understand, 
and  who  dismissed  the  Apostle,  saying: 
''We  shull  hear  you, another  day./' 

Not  to  apply  the  mind  to  meditate  seriously 
under  pretence  that  one  has  long  kno^^^l  his 
duties,  IS  an  evident  mark  of  sloth.  Every 
virtue  liot  the  consequence  of  reflection,  is 
soon  lost,  it  is  not  sustahied  by  conviction, 
sentiments  pass,  they  come  and  go.  Truth 
alone  remains. 

Nevertheless,  nothing  should  be  exaggerated 
and,  if  it  pleases  Our  Lord  to  transport  you 
at  once  into  the  ;3lfections,  follow  Him.    He 


PRAYER,    THE    GIFT    OF    OUR    HEART.       61 

has  himself  performed  your  preparatory  labor 
So,  also,  when  your  understanding  is  not 
sufficient  to  inflame  you.  you  must  take  a 
book.  It  is  rare  for  one  to  love  to  such 
a  degree  as  to  be  able  to  meditate  by  his 
own  strength.  Some  souls  possess  this  gift» 
but  they  are  few.  But  do  not  imagine  that 
in  taking  a  book  all  is  done.  It  is  necessary 
to  appropriate  what  it  says  to  one's  own 
grace  and  needs.  No  book  contains  what 
is  suitable  and  necessary  for  every  one,  for 
graces  are  infinitely  varied,  and  one  does 
not  identically  resemble  another.  The  best 
book  is  that  which  obedience  gives.  But  if 
sufficient  for  you  to-day,  it  may  say  nothing 
to  you  to-morrow.  No  book  satisfies  always. 
The  book  that  you  ought  to  open  incessantly 
is  yourself.  Again,  when  there  is  a  good 
will  all  books  are  good.  But  take  care  not 
to  hunt,  for  work  already  done.  Let  us  love 
with  our  own  heart  and  with' the  grace  that 
the  Holy  Spirit  nourishes  in  us. 


•a&^«&2&^!&^!&«&9£2&*£*&*&^!i&2i^Sa&Sa& 


PRAYER, 


^         the  GIFT  of  the  WILL.         ^ 

i\  . ^ 


RAYRR  is  our  sanctification  by  means  of 
God.  It  ought,  then,  to  prmluce  ref- 
ormation of  manners.  That  is  the  immediate 
€nd  of  prayer,  its  practical  conclusion,  its 
necessary'  result.  Above  all.  in  this  matter, 
let  us  not  forget  that  "  not  they  who  s:iy. 
Lord,  Lord,  shall  possess  the  kingdom  of 
heaven,  but  they  who  faithfully  fulfil  the 
wi^l    of   the   Father   who  is  in  heaven.  '* 

But  how  proceed  in  the- correction  of  one's 
self?  What  means  are  ta  be  taken?*  Whnt 
rules  observed? 

The  art  of  arts,  the  science  the  most 
difficult  is  that  of  the  direction  and  sanc- 
tification of  souls.  It  is  the  gift  of  few  to 
impart  good  princ  pies,  sure  rules.  How 
many  souls  buried  in  the  world  and  its  spirit 
would  become  heroic  in  sanctity  were  they 
well  directed!  They  are  left  at  petty  prin- 
ciples, they  go  on  from  day  to  day,  step 
by    step,    without    connection.    They    neglect 


PRAYER,    THE    GIFT    OF   THE    WILL  63 

the  great  principles  that  apply  to  everything, 
and  which  would  make  them  take  giant  strides. 

The  fundamental  principle  is  that  the  sanc- 
tification  of  a  soul  ought  to  be  carried  on 
according  to  its  nature  and  special  grace. 
Not  that  grace  depends  on  nature  and  is 
subordinated  to  it,  but  grace  works  on  na- 
ture only:  nature  is  the  material  for  its  ope- 
rations. It  must  then,  be  associated  with  grace 
and  taken  into  account.  It  is,  however,  on 
grace  that  the  manner  of  sanctification  is, 
above  all,  to  be  measured;  and  to  it  con- 
formed, Avithout  appeal,  the  practical  .rules 
that  should  be  employed  in  directing  the 
soul  to  sanctity. 

Take,  for  instance,  two  men  one  of  whom 
has  but  his  grace  of  conversion,  and  the 
other,  having  belonged  .to  God  for  a  length 
of    time,    is    drawn    to    sanctity. 

I.  — The  converted  one  must  be  told  to  say 
prayers  of  conversion,  which  attack  the  evil 
directly,  which  struggle,  which  carry  on  a 
high   war. 

To  the  sensual  man,  the  unchaste,  show 
first  of  all  the  unhappy  consequences  of  his 


64        PRAYER,    THE   GIFT   OF   THE   WILL. 

State  in  view  of  his  eternal  salvation.  Place 
before  him  the  supernatural  chastisements ;  the 
last  things,  death,  judgment,  hell  that  he 
deserves,  heaven  closed  to  him,  the  wrath  of 
God  and  His  a;venging  justice.  Make  him 
feel  the  tortures  of  his  conscience,  listen  to 
the  cries  of  remorse.  Let  this  be  his  prayer. 
Keep  him  there,  and  do  not  try  to  convert  him 
by  showing  him  only  the  fatal  consequences 
of  his  faults  for  time  and  his  own  well-being. 
That  is  done  too  much  in  our  day.  That  is 
trying  to  correct  one  vice  by  another.  It  is 
a  want  of  faith  in  the  supernatural  power  of 
grace.  ^ 

The  fruit  of  his  meditations,  the  practical 
conclusion  will  be  that  he  will  govern  himself 
rigidly  and  like  a  declared  enemy  of  his 
passions.  These  last  have  their  seat  in  the 
senses,  in  the  body.  Now,  the  body  under- 
stands nothing  about  reasons  ajid  considera- 
tions; brute  force  must  be  brought  against  it. 
Saint  Paul,  when  tempted,  prayed  to  the  Lord. 
But  that  was  not  sufficient.  The  revolt  of 
the  flesh  continued,   and  so  he  scourged  it, 


PRAYER,   THE   GIFT   OF  THE   WILL.         65 

chastised  it,  to  bring  it  into  ^ubiectiorit  Cas- 
tigo  corpus  m&wm. 

He,  says  tlie  proverb,  who  has '  a  slave 
and  treats  him  indulgently,  will  see  him  revolt 
against   him :    Sentiet   contumacem. 

It  is  in  the  struggle  against  the  flesh  that 
ihe  kingdom  of  God  demands  us  to  employ 
violence.  Force  must  be  used  against  the 
senses.  The  body  must  be  mastered  by  blows. 
That  is  the  only  way  to  reach  it.  No  doubt, 
the  rules  of  prudence  must  be  observed,  but 
it  is  not  for  us,  but  for  those  that  direct  us, 
to  fix  these  rules.  In  spite  of  all  our  care, 
there  are  certain  passions  against  which  it  is 
necessary  to  struggle  long,  without  truce  or 
mercy.  Even  should  we  fall  with  weariness 
on  the  battlefield  and  leave  there  a  little  of 
our  life,  that  is  no  great  misfortune. 

We  admire  the  sweetness  of  mortified  men. 
But  they  are  not  sweet  toward  themselves, 
even  if  they  are  toward  others,  or  if  they 
have  not  attained  this  resemblance  with  Jesus 
Christ  by  mortification  and  the  scourge.  A 
saint  is  a  soldier  of  Jesus  Christ,   one  who 


66        PRAYER,   THE   GIFT   OF  THE   WILL. 

has  known  labors,  fatignes,  bloody  struggles, 
and  who  bears  the  marks  of  them. 

Every  Christian  is  launched  into  the  thick 
of  the  fight,  first  to  combat  against  himself, 
and  then  against  the  world  within  and  with- 
out: "Militia  est  vita .hominis  super  terram 
—  Man's  life  on  earth  is  a  warfare. "  All 
this   calls  for  vigorous   effort. 

Our  Lord  shows  Himself  sweet  and  tender 
in  the  beginning.  He  has  only  caresses  for 
the  infancy  of  the  spiritual  life,  but  He 
quickly  leads  to  combat  those  that  want  to 
love  Him.  His  grace  is  honey  in  the  lion's 
jaws.  He  begins  by  sweetness,  and  ends  by 
authority.  After  the  caresses  of  His  tender- 
ness, come  the  blows  of  His  mortification. 
He  is  at  one  and  the  same  time  sweet  and 
forcible. 

If  you  cannot  like  Him  join  sweetness  to 
the  hatred  of  evil,  take  the  latter,  arm  your- 
self with  strength.  There  is  greater  need 
of  it. 

It  is  wfong  to  blame  the  converted  because 
they  are  austere,  rigid,  severe.  "  See  how 
hard   he   is!"    What  would   you   have?    En- 


PRAYER,   THE  GIFT  OP  THE  WILL.         67 

tirely  taken  up  with  lashing  himself  against 
himself,  there  escape  him  some  blows  against 
the  neighbor.  That  must  be  pardoned,  on 
account  of  his  necessity  of  being  violent 
against  self.    His  temptation  is  impatience. 

This  is  the  way  to  establish  the  reform  of 
the  passions  that  have  their  seat  in  the  exte 
rior  senses. 

If  there  is  question  of  uprooting  a  sin  of 
the  heart,  tactics  are  different.  The  heart 
is  as  delicate  and  sensitive  as  the  body  is 
blind  and  brutal.  The  heart  is  all  affection. 
It  possesses  and  it  is  possessed  by  love.  It 
acts  only  by  sympathy.  Its  idol  must  be  taken 
away  from  it,  its  affection  changed,  and  itself 
turned  from  its  sympathy. 

In  his  prayer,  such  a  pne  ought  to  consider 
the. nothingness  of  what  he  adores,  the  vanity 
of  what  he  loves,  and  even  the  abjection  of 
his  state.  In  contrast  with  his  created  idols, 
place  before  him  the  beauty  of  the  uncreated 
Good.  Take  care  never  to  withdraw  from 
him  what  he  has  seen  without  giving  him 
another  object  for  his  loVe,  more  beautiful, 
more    worthy,    sweeter    than    the    first.    The 


68   PRAYER,  THE  GIFT  OF  THE  WTLL. 

heart  cannot  remain  empty.  Take  away  fiom 
it  the  world  only  to  give  it  God.  It  must 
attach  itself,  it  must  love.  That  is  its  na- 
ture, its  essence.  Tf  left  alone  and  void,  it 
will  soon  return  to  Its  first  love.  Give  it. 
give  it  God,  the  Love  of  loves,  Jesus  Christ, 
its  Saviour,  infinitely  good  and  lovable. 

They  over  whom  the  heart  domineers,  ought 
to  be  led  and  instructed  by  the  heart.  They 
must  be  gently  made  to  feel  their  misfortune, 
made  to  see,  catch  a  glimpse  of  the  happi- 
ness of  attaching  one's  self  to  God  and 
loving  Him.  Do  not  handle  them  too  roughly, 
for  you  will  break  them.  Be  even  affection- 
ate, but  do  not  allo\V  yourself  to  be  cap- 
tured by  them.  Take  care!  They  will  be 
inclined  to  attach  themselves  to  you,  but  do 
not  permit  it,  though  without  repulsing  them, 
shaking  them  off  too  rudely.  At  the  begin- 
ning, a  little  balm  is  necessary'  for  the  heart. 
Have  pity  on  the  heart  I  Do  not  entirely 
discard  it. 

Thus,  the  way  to  reform  the  heart,  Is  to 
reason  with  it  by  its  pain,  its  unhappy 
state.    After  that  it  must  be  made  to  feel. 


PKAYEK,  THE  GUT.  Of  THE  WILL.    69 

Show  it  a  greater,  good,  a  pmer  and  jnorc 
perfect  happiness;  and,  lastly,  replace  affec- 
tion to  the  creature  by  love  for  the  Creator. 

But  if  the  soul  seeing  its  evil  state,  rec- 
ognizing and  admitting  it,  hesitates,  holds 
back  under  various  pretexts,  fails  in  courage 
to  break  away  from  it,  raise  it  up  cour- 
ageously,hesitate  not  to  force  it  even  violently, 
otherwise  it  will  be  lost  I  It  must  be  snatched 
from  the  danger  without  delay.  Permission 
is  not  needed  ior  that.  Pressing  peril  is  a 
reason  more  than  sufficient 

I  he  method  to  be  employed  with  the  under- 
derstanding  is  different.  While  the  heart 
yields  to  sentiment,  the  understanding  wants 
to  be  convinced  by  reasons ;  it  succumbs  only 
to  evidence.  Reason  with  it.  Length  of  time 
is  needed  to  convert  il»  It  is  difficult  and 
rare  ever  to  conquer  it  entirely,  and  this  is 
especially  true  of  pride. 

Let  the  meditation  in  such  cases  be  that 
of  reason  and  light.  Enlighten  forcibly,  in 
a  manner  to  make  a  lively  impression..  Con- 
vince the  understanding  of  its  errors,  show 
it   the  injustice   of   sin,    the   offence   that   it 


70        PRAYER,   THE   GIFT   OF  THE   WILL. 

offers  to  God,  its  ugliness  and  deformity.  Say 
with  Saint  Ambrose,  responding  to  Theodo- 
sius,  who  was  excusing  his  fault  by  citing 
the  example  of  David,  a  royal  simicr,  also: 
"  If  you  have  imitated  him  in  his  crime, 
imitate  him  in  his  penance!  "  Here  is  reason, 
evidence  that  convinces,  and  to  which  no  reply 
can  be  given.  Act  in  the  same  way  in  con 
verting  your  own  understanding  and  reforming 
it.  When  convinced  of  its  faults,  light  will 
force    it    to    submission. 

II,  —  All  that  we  have  hitherto  said  regards 
penitents,  those  who  are  breaking  with  the 
world   and  sin. 

As  for  them  who  belong  to  God  by  faith 
and  charity,  by  charity  more  or  less  great, 
it  is  true,  but  who  are,  nevertheless,  in  the 
way  of  salvation,  reformation  of  mor^s  follows 
another  course.  It  consists  especially  in  the 
acquisition  of  the  Christian  virtues  much 
more  than  in  the  destruction  of  sin.  How 
is  that  to  be  put  in  practice? 

There  are  two  ways,  and  both  are  good. 
Either  may  be  employed  according  to  the 
attraction  of  grace.    Follo\ving  the  first,  the 


PRAYER,  THE  GIFT  OF  THE  WILL.    71 

soul  energetically  desires  to  attain  virtue. 
She  sees  its.  moral  good,  its-  integrity,  its 
supernatural  beauty.  She  sees  that  virtue  is 
proper  for  the  Christian,  that  without  zeal  for 
the  Christian  virtues,  her  salvation  is  endan 
gered;  that  the  practice  of  perfect  Christianity 
produces  innumerable  fruits  in  this  life,  but,, 
far.  above  all,  the  fruit  of  eternal  life.  This 
view  inflames  desire.  She  labors  day  .by  day, 
hour  by  hour,  mounting  from  degree  to 
degree.  Her  progress  encouraging  her  she 
sees  her  upward  course,  and  that  strengthens 
her  to  labor  with  more  fidelity.  Here,  in- 
deed, is  a  good  method  which  infallibly 
leads  to  sanctity.  Now,  you  religious,  begin 
with  the  practice  of  the  duties  of  your  state, 
poverty,  chastity,  obedience.  They  arc  the 
essential  virtues  of  your  state.  Follow  your 
trade  above  all.  As  for  the  rest,  all  the  vir- 
tues are  sisters.  A  single  one  well  practised, 
dominates,  attracts  the  others,  and  renders 
their  practice  easy.  Take  the  virtue  most  nec- 
essary to  your  state.  You  must  begin  with 
the  one  most  needed,  but  always  hold  ^on 
faithfully    to    those    virtues    that    form    youf 


72i        PRAYER,   THE   GIFT   OF  THE   WILL. 

law,  your,  essential  duty.  Later,  you  will 
occupy  yourself  with  the  virtues  of  counsel'. 

Thus,  to  labor  for  the  good  of  virtue,  for 
the  recompense  it  entails,  and  the  fruit  it 
produces,  is  a  good  principle,  a  good  method 
to  follow  in  the  reformation  of  one's  life  and 
in  the  labor  of  the  will.  But  there  is  a 
better  one,  and  that  is,  to  labor  through  love, 
to  desire  only  one  thing,  and  that  is  to  love, 
and  in  doing  so,  to  expect  all  the  rest. 

There  is  no  longer  any  question  of  ac- 
quiring virtue,  of  gathering  fruits  of  sanctity; 
the  only  question  now  is  of  loving,  of  longing 
tor  God  above  everything,  in  ever^'thing,  and 
all  through  love  for  Him.  There  is  no  longer 
question  of  impressing  one's  self  with  this 
truth,  of  convincing  one's  self  of  this  prin. 
ciple,  namely,  that  it  is  necessary  to  love  Him 
and  sanctify  one's  self  by  love  for  Him.  To 
love  —  behold  the  principle,  the  beginning 
and  the  end.  Means  will  be  taken  and  used, 
but  only  to  apply  this  principle,  obtain  this 
end  of  love.  The  first  method  in  the  ac- 
quisition of  the  virtues  proceeds  by  analysis; 
the  second    by   synthesis.    This  grand   ptm* 


PRAYER,   THE   GIFT   OF  THE   WILL.         73 

ciple  of  love  is  applied  according  to  the  need 
and  progress'  of  grace.  The  important  thing 
is  to  establish  it  firmly  in  the  beginning,  to 
set  out  with  it,  to  follow  it  in  all  things, 
holding  on  to  it  like  a  flambeau,  like  a 
clue. 

Again,  it  is  a  principle  which  corresponds 
admirably  to  our  nature  and  to  the  grace  of 
God  in  us.  We  are  the  children"  of  man. 
Now,  the  mother  aims  first  of  all  to  enkindle 
in  her  child  the  flame  of  love,  and  then 
she  demands  of  it  the  sacrifices  of  obedience, 
submission,  study,  in  a  word,  all  the  sac- 
rifices demanded  by  education.  She  exacts 
them  by  urging  her  love  for  her  son,  which 
she  testifies  to  him  in  so  many  ways,  and 
as  proofs  of  the  gratitude  and  affection  of 
her  child's  heart.  If  the  child  is  noble  and 
well-disposed,  he  understands  this  language, 
and  he  accomplishes  heroic  things  through 
love. 

We   are,    moreover,   childrefi    of    God.    As 

such  we  have  received  in  Baptism  the  spirit 

of   adoption   of   children,    which    consists    in 

the   gift  and  the   habit  .of   love.    The   Holy 

The  Divine  Eucharist.  6 


74        PRAYER,   THE  GIFT   OF  THE   WILL, 

Spirit,  substantial  and  subsistent  love,  resides 
in  lis.  He  fills  our  faculties  and  our  soul, 
disposing  them  to  love  by  habit  and  state, 
and  by  His  movements  exciting  them  to  acts 
of  love.  The  Holy  Spirit  is  more  in  our 
soul  than  the  soul  is  in  herself,  for  He 
envelops  her,  elevates  her,  supernaturalizes 
her,  and  transforms  her  into  Himself,  who  is 
Love,  essential  Love.  Love  is  one  same  thing 
with  grace.  The  spirit  of  grace  is  then  the 
Spirit  of  Love.  The  movement  and  the  apti 
tude  of  love  is  the  acting  by  love,  for  every 
being   acts   according   to   its   nature. 

Do  you  understand  how  much  this  prin 
ciple  of  love  faithfully  corresponds  to  our 
inmost  being,  to  our  nature  and  our  grace 
as  children  of  Adam  and  children  of  God? 
Why,  then,  not  start  out  with  the  love  of 
God  in  order  to  arrive  at  the  virtues?  Come 
then,  let  us  start  from  itl  Our  greatest 
strength   lies   there  I 

In  application  and  practice,  this  love  will 
take  every  form  of  virtue,  for  Saint  Thomas 
says  that  perfection  essentially  resides  in 
love.    All  the  virtues,  according  to  Saint  Au- 


PRAYER,   THE   GIFT   OF  THE  WILL.         75 

gustine,  may  be  reduced  to  love.  Saint  Paul 
said  the  same  thing  before  him ;  and  to  be 
perfect,  says  the  Angelic  Doctor,  is  nothing 
else  than  "to  love  enough  to  throw  aside  all 
obstacles  that  oppose  our  union  Avith  God, 
the  end  of  all  perfection.  "  Love,  then  be- 
comes chastity,  poverty,  obedience,  patience, 
sweetness,  and  humility.  In  all  these  we  pro- 
fess only  one  thing,  namely,  to  love,  to 
make  an  act  of  love,  to  destroy  some  obstacle 
to  love,  to  help  on  love  and  union  with  God. 
Admirable  unity,  unique  beginning!  Lu- 
minous principle,  strength  so  much  the' greater 
as  it  is  more  concentrated,  point  of  view 
always  the  same,  without  division,  without 
dispersion  of  force,  of  attention,  of  heart,  or 
of  soul! 

Lastly,  remark  that  Our  Lord  came  on  earth 
only  to  make  His  Father  loved;  that  Me  was 
the  figure  of  His  beauty,  and  tliat  He  rec- 
ommends to  us,  in  short,  but  one  thing,  to 
love  Him  above  all  things,  and  all  things  on 
account  of  Him.  The  resumd  of  His  doctrine 
is:  " Manete  in  dilectione  mea  —  Abide  in  My 
love!  " 


76        PRAYER,    THE   GIFT    OK.  THE   WILL. 

Behold  what  your  state  demands,  the  only 
thing  that  recommends  it  as  a  state,  as  a 
habit.  This  is  what  forms  the  centre  of  every 
Christian  and  supernatural  life,  and  from  the 
centre  one  goes  easily  and  surely  to  the  cir- 
cumference, because  on  all  points  we  fmd 
radii. 

I  counsel  you,  then,  to  establish  yoursehcs 
firmly  on  this  principle.  Make  it  the  starting- 
point  for  the  reformation  of  your  life,  for 
your  life,  for  your  efforts  after  the  virtues 
and  hoHness ;  for,  to  return  to  what  we  said 
in  the  beginning,  the  reformation  of  morals, 
the  sanctification  of  life,  the  acquisition  of 
Jesus  Christ's  sanctity,  is  the  end  of  prayer 
and  the  end  of  the  religious  life :  "  Estate 
perfecti  sicut  Pater  vester  ccelestis  perfectus 
est  — -  Be  ye  perfect  as  your  heavenly  Father 
is  perfect.  " 


-A5>^<^^<S>^ 


^^^^«^4^^^^^^^4^^^j&^^ 


DOES  GOD  LOVE  ME  ? 


HIS  question  is  not  often  heard.  But 
that'  is  not  right;  for  if  it  is  well  to 
ask  ourselves  whether  we  love  God,  it  is 
also  very  useful  to  convince  ourselves  that 
God  loves  us. 

I.  —  Yes,  God  loves  us!  He  loves  us  with 
an  eternal  love,  which  has  neither  beginning 
nor  end,  neither  succession  nor  vicissitude.- 
We  are  eternal  in  His  love.  From  all  eternity 
before  we  had  any  existence,  God  had  con- 
ceived us  in  His  thought,  willed  us  in  His 
decrees,  and  it  was  a  thought  and,  a  decree 
of  love! 

Ah!  we  shall  never  love  Him  as  He  has 
loved  us.  We  may  dilate  our  love,  extend 
it,  carry  it  beyond  all  bounds,  but  we  shall 
always  be  in  arrears  of  gratitude,  always  in 
a  debt  of  love.  Alas!  we  do  not  love  Him. 
even  during  the  short  moments  of  this  life, 
which  He  leaves  us  freely  to  prove  our  grati- 
tude, while  He  has  loved  us  from  all  eter- 
nity! Here  we  find  the  source  of  those  in- 
consolable tears  of  the  saints  on  earthy    The 


78  DOES    GOD    LOVE    ME? 

present  -  hardly  suffices  to  respond  to  His 
present  love.  How,  then,  satisfy  the  weight 
of  love  accumulated  during  endless  ages? 
This  impossibility  to  love  sufficiently,  to  re- 
pair their  defect  of  Jove,  is  the  torment  of  the 
saints.  They  are  inconsolable.  The  world 
does  not  understand  their  tears.  Naturally, 
it  must  be  so,  for  we  scarcely  shed  tears 
enough  over  our  sins  to  obtain  i>ardon  for 
them.  But  the  saints  w6pt  for  not  having 
employed  all  their  time  in  loving;  and  if  they 
l»ave  offended  God,  their  tears  are  never 
dried.  Behold  Saint  Peter  pardoned,  con 
firmed  in  grace,  the  Head  of  the  Church, 
and  yet  he  wept  incessantly.  Morning  found 
him  on  his  knees  bathed  in -the  tears  that 
had  dug  a  double  furrow  on  his  emaciated 
clieeks  by  the  incurable  wound  of  his  re- 
pentance. Oh,  how  great  is  our  misery! 
Scarcely  a  few  acts  of  contrition  to  repair 
lost  love,  love  offended!  Alas!  it  is  love 
that  lights  and  feeds  the  fire  of  the  damned, 
and  tlieir  most  cutting  regret  is  for  not  having 
loved 
God's  eternal  love  is  manifested  for  us  by 


DOES    GOD    LOVE    ME?  79 

the  benefits  of  time.  We  exist  only  by  a 
benevolent  creation  of  God's  love,  and  we 
are  preserved  only  because  He  bears  us  in 
His   arms. 

Besides,  this  life  is  given  lis  only  to  love 
God.  Man's  perfection  consists  in  that.  He 
is  good  only  if  he  loves  God.  This  is  the 
end  fixed  for  him  by  the  Great Qr  in  His 
loving  liberality.  And  so  it  seems  that,  if 
God  did  not  say  of  man  when  creating  him, 
that  thia  work  of  His  hands  was  good,  as  He 
had  said  of  all  the  others,  it  was  because  man 
will  be  truly  finished  and  perfect  only  when 
he  shall  have  loved  God  and  proved  his 
Jove  by  his  works. 

There  is  on  the  part  of  God  as  much 
condescension  in  wishing  to  be  loved  by 
us,  in  giving  us  the  faculty  and  the  grace 
to  love  Him,  as  in  loving  us  Himself  and 
loading  us  with   testimonies  of   His  love. 

n.  —  Created  in  His  love,  it  is  His  love 
that  redeems  us.  He  condescends  to  our 
nature,  to  the  need  of  our  heart;  and  be- 
cause our  love  has  become  materialized,  no 
longer  loving  anything  but  the  sensible,  God 


80  DOES    GOD    LOVE    ME? 

accepts  us  such  as  we  are,  making  Himself 
sensible  in  order  to  replace  in  our  Ibve"  the 
sensible  idols  to  which  we  consecrated  it. 

Listen  to  this  council  of  love :  "  Which  of 
Us  will  go  to  man?"  that  is,  which  of  the 
three  Divine  Persons,  eternal,  essentially 
spiritual,  will  become  love,  human  love,  sen- 
sible and  visible,  to  gain  man  ?  For  his  heart 
is  caught  only  by  this  means.  "  Atid  the 
^Vord  was  made  flesh,  Caro.  "  We  see,  we 
understand  only  love,  for  the  word  itself 
indicates  it.  The  Holy  Spirit  might  have 
said  man,  He  was  made  man.  But  no,  iiesh! 
That  is  a  more  sensible  love,  one  more 
conformed  to  our  own  heajrt  of  flesh :  "  Caro 
factum    est.  " 

And  Jesus  Christ  is  only  God's  lovje  hu- 
manized, given  to  men  in  all  possible  ways, 
under  all  forms  and  conditions,  to  prove  to 
him  the  love  of  his  Creator.  How  can  we 
doubt  that  God  loves  us  when  the  Word 
has  come  to  tell  it  to  us  by  His  speech, 
His  eyes.  His  Heart,  by  everything  that  man 
can  feel  and  understand? 

His    only   purpose    in   coming   was  to   tell 


DOES    GOD    LOVE    ME?  81 

us:    ''Sic   Deus   dilexit  —  God   has    so   loved 

the   world.  "    He   loves   us,    He   loves   us  as 

God,  that  is,  infinitely! 
He  has  taken  into  His  Heart  all  the  various 

forms    of   love   that   move   us,   and   He   has 

given  us  proofs  of  it. 
Parental   love  being   the  most   natural  and 

the  strongest,  because  it  is  wrapped  up  with 

the  blood  and  the  sources  of  life,  Jesus  has 
called  Himself  our  Father,  and  He  has  made 
Himself  our  Brother. 

Friendship,,  based  on  equality  of  position 
and  character,  being  one  form  of  love.  He 
has  become  our  Friend.  The  love  of  parents 
supposes  some  inequality,  a  certain  distance 
of  fear  and  respect,  but  Jesus  loves  us  as 
a  Brother  and  a  Friend ;  consequently,  all 
distinctions  and  distance  disappear.  With 
Him  we  share  the  same  condition,  the  same 
name,  the  same  table,  the  same  life.  And  if 
He  willed  to  be  born  an  infant  and  to  pass 
through  all  the  ages  of  life,  it  was  that  in 
every  state,  at  all  periods  of  their  life,  /all 
men  may  have   in   Him  a  Brother  and  be- 


82  DOES    GOD    LOVE    ME? 

hold    God's    love    humanized    and    like    unto 
their  ovm. 

It  was  not  enough  for  Him  to  become 
like  unto  us  in  nature  He  would  share  our 
trials,  our  miseries,  our  sufferings,  that  we 
might  be  overcome  by  that  -evidence  and 
forced  to  cry  ouf  "Yes,  God  has  loved  us!  " 
And  He  has  done  so.  He  has  taken  all  my 
sins  on  Himself,  borne  them  alone,  and  ac- 
cepted their  terrible  chastisement-  interior 
trials,  pains  of  soul,  horrible  sufferings  of 
body,  His  interior  and  exterior  Passion  I  Be 
hr»ld  the  proofs  of  His  Jove.  Is  this  enough? 
Shall  we  deny  a  love  that  is  proved  by 
suffering's  and  death  ^  Ah!  who  would  do 
what  He  has  done?  No  one  no  one!  Shall 
we  be  unjust  tovvaid  God  alone,  and  shall 
we  not  acknowledge  that  He  loves  us? 

III.  —  Yes,  He  loves  us,  but  it  would  not 
suffice  for  Him  to  love  us  in  general,  as  a 
whole.  That  would,  indeed,  be  much,  and 
even  sufficient  to  save  us.  But  He  wills  to 
go  even  to  the  end  of  infinite  love,  and  so 
He  loves  us  personally,  individually,  as  if  we 
were,   each  one,   the  only  one  in  the  world. 


DOES    GOD    LOVE    ME?  83 

If  some  one  would  say  to  you:  "God  willed 
to  love  you,  and  to  prove  it  He  created  this 
world  with  all  its  wonders  for  you  alone.  You 
are  sufficient  for  Him.  You  alone  are  the 
end  of  all  His  works  of  nature,  grace,  and 
glory.  "  If  God  Himself  should  add :  "  I  will 
give  My  only  Son  for  you.  He  will  die 
for  you.  He  will  establish  the  Church  and 
His  Sacraments  for  you;  and  again  for  you 
He  will  abide  in  the  Blessed  Sacrament  until 
the  end  of  the  world,  continuing  therein  His 
life  of  love  for  you,  and  incessantly  renewing 
therein  His  Passion  and  His  death  for  the 
love  of  you.  All  this  is  for  you  alone " — 
If  some  one  should  tell  you  this,  if  God 
Himself  should  assure  you  of  it,  would  you 
believe  him?  And  if  after  that,  it  had  to  be 
acknowledged  that  you  will  not  love  Him, 
that  all  those  benefits  will  not  be  able  to 
gain  your  love, — ah!  what  would  you  reply? 
No,  there  could  be  no"  response  to  that.  You 
would  lower  your  eyes,  you  would  blush, 
you  would  experience  a  feeling  worse  than 
that  of  the  demons! 
And    yet,   it  is   so     God's    love   for    every 


84  DOES    GOD    LOVE    ME? 

one  of  lis  is  personal.  In  all  His  works,  He 
had  but  each  one  of  us  in  view.  All  creatures 
are  at  the  service  of  every  one  of  us,  as  well 
as  all  graces,  all  treasures  of  sanctificaiion, 
all  the  marvels  of  grace.  Every  one  should 
cry  out  with  Saint  Paul  '' Dilexit  mc !  He 
has  loved  me,  "  me,  me  alone,  and  to  prove 
His  love  for  me,  "  He  has  delivered  Himself 
for  me,  "  for  me  alone,  to  the  death  of  th.e 
Cross!  With  how  much  stronger  reason  has 
He  made  all  other  things,  visible  and  in- 
visible, for  me,  for  me  alone! 

And  all  that  love  of  God  may  be  summed 
up,  condensed,  vouched  for  in  the  gift  that 
God  made  me  of  His  Son,  that  Jesus  Christ 
made  me  of  Himself  in  Holy  Communion.  I 
am  His  end.  He  finishes  by  uniting  Himself 
to  me!  All,  then,  was  for  me,  and  for  me 
alone!  All  since  the  beginning  of  the  world, 
and  before,  has  prepared  that  Gift  of  per- 
sonal love  He  makes  me  of  His  Body,  His 
Blood,  His  Soul,  and  His  Divinity,  of  all 
that  He  is,  all  that  He  has,  for  all  ends  in 
me,  in  my  heart,  in  my  soul. 


DOES    GOD    LOVE    ME?  85 

Christian,  behold  your  price— God  Him- 
self!   ^' Tanti  vales,  quanti  JDeus !  " 

Oh  I  after  such  love,  I  can  understand  hell. 
And  we  do  not  love  God!  We  should  commit 
suicide  out  of  despair  and  shame  as  a  fit 
punishment    for    such    ingratitude! 

And  man  does  not  love  God!  He  offends 
Him!  Ah!  God  brings  contempt  on  Him- 
self by  dint  of  loving  One  might  say  that 
He  sought  It!  Would  you  allow  yourselves  to 
be  thus  despised  and  msulted  by  your  chil 
dren,  your  subordinates?  God  showers  man 
with  riches,  loads  him  with  benefits  in  spite 
of  his  sins,  his  daily  sins!  It  is  that  he  may 
return  to  Him,  be  conquered  by  Him. 

We  must  have  the  hearts  of  demons  not 
to  love  God! 

And  Our  Lord  shields  the  ingrates,  excuses 
them-  "Father,  forgive  them,  for  they  know 
not  what  they  do,"  and  this  while  they  are 
cursing  Him  I  No,  God  has  no  more  dignity, 
no   more -honor,   He  has  love  only! 

I  cannot  think  of  that.  It  tortures  me  J 
One  would  wish  to  kill  himself  for  love! 

The  demon  cried  out  one  day  by  the  mouth 


86  DOES    GOD    LOVE    ME? 

of  a  possessed:    "You  men,   God  has  loved 
you  too  much!  " 

That  is  true  I  The  good  God  made  a 
mistake!  He  has  loved  us  too  much!  "  Prop- 
ter nimiam  charitatem  qua  dilexit  nos  —  For 
His    exceeding    charity   wherewith    He   loved 


t!^j&as3;fe^jg^3i^j^*».-tf^->ife*»-*fe3a&^^ 


DO  I  LOVE  GOD  ? 


jo  we  love  God?  That  is  the  one  thing 
necessary.  Here  we  must  have  a  posi- 
tive answer.  No  doubt,  no  evas'on  —  yes  or 
no,  do  we  love  God? 

There  is  no  middle  course.  We  love  Him 
or  we  hate  Him.  Do  we  love  Him?  To  say 
yes  without  fear  would  be  to  proclaim  one's 
self  a  saint,  to  crown  one's  self.  The  answer, 
then,  will  be  to  see  whether  we  do  not  offend 
Him,  or  better  still,  whether  we  are  scru- 
pulous, considerate  in  our  dealings  with  Him. 
We  love  God  when  we  are  thoughtful  in  our 
relations  toward  Him,  for  love  is  but  the 
refinement  of  fidelity,  honor,  and  generosity. 

I.  —  Have  we  the  refined  fidehty  of  a  good 
servant  for  his  maister?  We  at  least  owe 
obedience  to  our  Sovereign  Good.  That  is 
the  least  He  can  exact.  We  owe  Him  ab- 
solute obedience,  submissive,  unlimited,  a 
passive  obedience.  They  give  that  to  human 
masters.  Is  not  God  of  more  account  than 
an  earthly  master?  God  tells  us  that  such" 
or  such  an  action  militates  against  His  author- 


DO    I    LOVE    GOD 


ity,  contravenes  His  designs,  and  yet  we  do 
it  all  the  same.  Is  this  fidelity?  Is  this  con 
siderate?  We  deserve  for  such  conduct  exem- 
plary chastisement,  for  under  pain  of  being 
no  longer  God,  God  cannot  permit  us  to 
violate  His  laws  with  impunity.  "  Morte  mo- 
rieris  —  Thou  shalt  die  the  death!"  Such  is 
the  decree  justice  pronounces  against  us 
every  time  we  violate  God's  authority.  On 
the  other  side.  He  rewards  us  if  we  do  not 
disobey  Him.  No  master  is  satisfied  with 
asking  so  little  as  the  good  God  I 

Alas!  it  is  \vritten  that  man's  enemies  are 
his  sen-ants  and  familiars.  Let  us  not  realize 
this  word  against  God,  but  let  us  arm  our- 
selves with  that  refinement  of  fidelity,  which 
accomplishes  the  law,  the  whole  law  exactly. 
That  is  the  first  duty  imposed  on  us  by  the 
title  of  creature,  as  is  also  that  of  being,  in 
the  first  place,  grateful  if  we  love  God. 

II.  —  We  must  have,  also,  the  consider- 
ateness  of  children  toward  their  parents.  A 
child's  considerateness  is  a  sure  sign  of  its 
love. 

Filial  considerateness,  not  content  with  duty, 


DO    I    LOVE    GOD?  89 

seeks  and  divines  what  pleases  or  displeases, 
in  order  to  do  the  one  and  shun  the  other. 

As  the  soul  increases  in  piety,  she  becomes 
more  refined,  for  refinement  flourishes,  ex- 
pands very  naturally  on  love.  A  refined  soul 
comes  -to  ghun  venial  sins  with  as  much 
solicitude  as  others  use  in  fleeing  mortal 
offences.  A  certain  sin  may  be  only  venial 
by  nature,  but  it  is  mortal  for  her  heart. 

Filial  delicacy  shuns  all  that  might  be  ca- 
pable of  displeasing,  even  if  it  be  not  a  sin. 
Oh,  how  many  sins  people  would  avoid  if 
they  were  considerate  I 

III.  —  By  our  quality  of  religious,  which 
unites  us  to  God  by  a  free  choice  on  either 
side,  we  are  more  than  children  of  the 
household.  God  has  called  us.  He  has 
charmed  us.  We  have  espoused  Him.  Now, 
these  are  the  relations,  so  full  of  thought- 
fulness  of  the  spouse  for  the  spouse,  that  we 
ought  to  have  with  Our  Lord. 

Well,  that  calls  for  mcomparable  purity, 
for  tmion  with  Our  Lord  is  more  or  Jess 
intimate  according  to  the  degree  of  purity 
He   cannot   dwell   in  a  house  full   of   venial 

The  Divine  Eucharist. 


90  DO    I    LOVE    GOD? 

sins,  with  people  who  have  them  without  per- 
ceiving them  and  who  commit  them  so  easily 
The  religious  is  bound  to  more  perfect 
purity  than  the  priest  himself,  for  he  dwells 
with  Jesus  Christ,  he  is  in  constant  com- 
munication with  Him;  and  Our  Lord  cannot 
endure  the  sight  of  venial  sin.  Would  you 
convert  the  King's  court  into  a  leprous  hos- 
pital ? 

Ah,  be  careful  about  purity  of  life,  purity 
of  conscience!  Do  not  seek  so  much  the 
virtues  that  crown  you  in  the  eyes  of  men, 
as  well  as  in  your  own,  but  be  pure!  Labor 
to  preserve  and  increase  your  purity  Suffer 
not  even  the  appearance  of  sin. 

Our  Lord  loves  Mary^  Saint  John,  little 
children  with  a  love  of  complacency  because 
they  are  pure.  This  love  is  only  for  purity 
To  others  He  shows  compassion  and  mercy 

Ah!  be  pure,  and  fly  the  least  stain  as  you 
would  fly  a  serpent!  Be  refined  in  purity! 

Now,  to  be  refined  in  puiity,  it  is  sufficient 
to  love  the  good  God  more  than  self,  more 
than  all  else.  He  who  loves  thus  will  never 
offend,   will   have  a   horror   even   to   sadden., 


DO    I    LOVE    GOD?  91 

Purity  is  born  spontaneously  6f  love.  It 
is  not  learned  as  a  science.  It  is  inspired. 
Jt  is  felt.  Love  gives  birth  to  it  .as  it.s 
beautiful  white  flame.  When  we  love  well, 
we  carry  delicacy  even  to  severity,  to  the 
extreme.  Refined  love  abhors  mixture.  It 
destroys  the  misty.    It  can  live  only  in  purity. 

God's  first  creation  was  the  perfect  light 
What  God  creates  in  the  soul,  also,  before  all 
else,  is  light.  We  have  been  baptized  into  the 
light.  The  newly-baptized  were  formerly 
caUed  the  illuminated.  God  works  only  in 
the  light,  and  Hght  is  but  the  purity  .of  love.. 

The  state  of  grace  is  purity,  and  it  gives 
heaven  to  those  that  are  clothed  with  it. 
But  had  I  all  the  virtues,  and  did  I  fill  the 
world  with  my  miracles,  if  I  had  not  love, 
that  is,  the  state  of  grace  and  purity,  all 
would  serve  me  little. 

Sanctity  is,  then,  the  state  of  grace  puri- 
fied, illumined,  adorned  with  the  most  perfect 
purity,  exempt  not  only  from  grave  sins,  but 
also  from  the  least  faults.  If  is  the  purity 
of  light  prepared  for  the  glory  ^nd  the  sight 
of  God. 


92  DO    I    LOVE    GOD? 

The  martyr  purified  by  fire,  goes  straight 
to  heaven  by  virtue  of  his  perfect  purity. 
The  work  of  grace  in  us  is  to  purify  ,us 
constantly.  It  acts  in  us  only  after  having 
purified  us,  as  the  flame  commences  by  con- 
suming the  rust  on  iron.  After  that  it 
embraces  it,  transforms  it  into  glowing  fire, 
because  it  has  become  perfectly  sympathetic 
with  it;  in  like  manner  does  it  dry  up  wood, 
depriving  it  of  all  moisture  before  kindling 
it.  Purify  yourselves  incessantly,  ever  more 
and  more.  Purity  will  make  you  saints.  Pure 
from  all  evil,  Jesus  Christ  will  fill  you  .with 
every  good  and  with  Himself;  for  He  enters 
into  us  and  gives  us  His  life  in  proportion 
as  we  abandon  our  own,  and  empty  our- 
selves of  sin:  " Dilata  cor  tuum,  et  implebo 
illudi  —  Enlarge  thy  heart,  and  I  Will  fill  itl" 

If  you  are  pure,  if  you  constantly  purify 
yourselves,  you  will  love  God  truly.  All 
consists   ui  that. 


<^> 


PARDONIISTG  LOVE. 


I.  —  God  loves  us  personally^  since  He  has 
created  us  and  all  things  for  us,  and  has 
redeemed   us   by   dying  for  us. 

There  is  one  greater  proof  of  God's  love 
for  us,  and  that  is,  the  power  He  gives  of 
obtaining  pardon  after  having  offended  Him. 

God's  mercy  to  us,  which  rises  superior  to 
all  His  others  mercies,  is  His  goodness  in 
pardoning  us. 

How  much  has  God  loved  us?  As  much 
as  He  pardons  us,  as  He  has  pardoned  us, 
as  He  will  pardon  us!  Gqd  is  good.  He 
loves  me,  since  He  pardons  me  when  I  have 
offended  Him.  I  need  no  other  proof.  There 
is  none  more  convincing,  none  that  touches 
me  so  deeply.  It  was  from  the  love  that  had 
pardoned  him  that  Samt  Paul  drew  his  own 
love  as  an  Apostle.  It  was  from  the  mercy 
which  had  remitted  so  many  sins  that  Saint 
Augustine  imbibed  that  love  which  inflamed 
and  pierced  his  heart,  changing  it  into  the 
heart  of  a  seraph. 

God's   love  for   us   is   more   merciful   than 


94  PARDONING    LOVE. 

benevolent,  because,  sinners  by  nature,  we 
have  need  of  mercy  above  all  else.  It  is 
also  His  mercy  that,  above  all  His  other 
attributes.  He  exerts  during  our  life  on  this 
earth.  This  world  is  its  empire,  and  time  is 
its  reign. 

Mercy  has  abandoned  heaven.  It  has  come 
down  to  earth,  it  covers,  envelops  man.  It 
is  his  centre,  his  atmosphere,  the  air  that 
he  breathes,  the  light  that  enlightens  him. 
We   live   on  mercy. 

It  shields  the  sinner  from  the  justice  which 
would  punish  every  sin.  It  arrests  it,  retards 
it  until  death.  It  follows  man,  accompanies 
him  every^rtrhere,  never  quits  him,  no,  not 
even  after  death,  for  it  follows  him  to  pur- 
gatory. Purgatory  is  nothing  else  than  the 
last  effort  of  God's  mercy  in  behalf  of  the 
sinner.  Above  the  portals  of  that  fiery  prison 
is  written :  Misericordia  Dei ! 

God's  mercy  for  man  is  infinite.  We  shall 
never  exhaust  it.  We  shall  never  stifle  it  by 
our  ingratitude.  We  nevar  wear  it  out,  never 
discourage  it.  It  pardons  always,  pardons 
everything.    Even  when  the  crime  is  evident, 


PARDONING   LOVE.  95 

it  says.  "Father,  forgive,  for  they  know  not 
what  they  do  I  " 

When  we  reject  it,  iil-use  it,  it  seizes  upon 
us,  pursues  us,  still  eager  to  vanquish  us: 
"  Judas,  hetrayest  thou  the  Son  of  Man  with 
a  kiss !  0  My  Friend  /  "  Our  sins  will  never 
be  so  great  as  the  mercy  of  God.  There  is 
one  thing,  however,  one  thing  that  it  cannot 
conquer,  and  against  which  it  can  do  nothing, 
and  that  is,  the  pride  of  supernatural  gifts, 
which  with  full  knowledge  reject's  Gods 
goodness,   and  kills  itseif. 

II.  —  The  Holy  Scriptures  are  full  of  proofs 
of  the  divine  mercy.  God  designedly  mul- 
tiplied them,  because  we  have  absolute  need 
of  it.  The  sinner  of  necessity,  as  it  were, 
despairs.  That  is  the  effect  which  always 
follows  sinful  pleasure,  and  the  second  effect 
is  much  more  certain  than  the  first.  Adam 
and  Eve,  who  fled  and  doubted  of  mercy, 
Cain,  who  rejected  it  and  exclaimed:  "My 
sin  is  too  great  for  pcwdon,  "  are  types  of 
the  sinner  after  his  fall.  They  are  discouraged 
for  having  been  unfaithful;  and  the  majority 
of  sinners   who  put   off   their  conversion  are 


96  PARDONING    LOVE. 

held  back  by  despair  "  It  is  impossible  for 
me  to  be  pardoned.  I  have  too  deeply  offend- 
ed God  I"  The  day  on  wich  they  would 
weep,   they   would  be   converted. 

And  the  pious,  —  why  do  they  fall?  Be- 
cause they,  too,  despair.  They  are  discourag- 
ed by  their  falls.  They  have  not  succeeded. 
That  is  not  what  they  were  hoping"  for. 
The  demon  fills  their  soul  \vith  diffidence. 
That  is  his  best  secret  for  entering  into  the 
soul  and  ruining  it.  May  this  sentiment  never 
rule  in  yours  I  What  I  would  you  doubt  0f 
the  mercy  of  God!  No,  nol  —  If  you  fall, 
rise  again  by  humble  and  repentant  con- 
fidence. Humility  that  seeks  to  rest  in  its 
misery  is  only  pride  humbled  and  vexed.  Hu- 
mility flies  toward  God  on  the  wings  of 
confidence.  "  Oratio  humiliayitis  se,  nubes  pe- 
netrant —  The  prayer  of  him  who  humbleth 
himself,  pierces  the  clouds.  " 

The  more  pious  and  virtuous  you  are,  the 
more  you  will  experience  temptations  to  dis- 
couragement. One  always  holds  on  to  self, 
fearing  to  cast  himself  into  the  arms  of  God. 
And    yet   would    you   make    a   good    act    of 


PARDONING   LOVE,  97 

contrition?  Instea'd  of  descending  into  hell 
to  view  your  own  place  therein,  make  an 
act  of  faith  in  God's  mercy.  Take  God  by 
His  weak  side,  His  bowels  of  mercy  and  His 
Heart.  A  man  taken  by  his  weak  side,  will 
give  his  whole  purse  and  something  else 
besides.  Show  God  that  it  is  to  His  glory  to 
grant  you  mercy,  that  it  cannot  be  better 
exercised  than  on  you,  that  you  will  be  His 
victory  and  His  masterpiece.  Take  God  by 
the  Heart! 

I  think  that,  by  drawing  nearer  and  nearer 
to  God,  a  soul  would  reach  the  point  of 
never  again  experiencing  temptations  to 
discouragement,  and  that  in  His  vicinity,  she 
would  forever  be  established  in  perfect  con- 
fidence. Saint  Alphonsus  di  Liguori  says 
that  the  temptations  God  sends  to  the  saints 
are  those  against  faith,  confidence,  chastity, 
and  the  confessor,  who  visibly  represents  God 
to  the  soul.  Alas!  this  is  very  true.  Such 
tempests  are  horrible!  God  rouses  them  to 
show  men's  virtue  in  the  highest  degree  of 
confidence,  in  naked  faith  grounded  on  His 
word  alone.    In  proportion  as  they  advance 


9a  PARDONING    LOVE. 

toward  God,  life  is  purified  and  transformed 
When,  above  all,  it  is  on  the  eve  of  finishing, 
in  order  to  become  the  life  of  heaven  and 
happiness,  all  the  virtues  impeach  one.  Sins 
grow  greater,  and  one  sees  in  his  actions 
only  defects.  All  conspire  agamst  confidence 
and  the  div'ine  mercy.  I  have  seen  the 
holiest  soul  one  could  meet  m  heart-rending 
despair.  It  was  not  his  faults  that  had  re- 
duced him  to  such  a  state,  but  he  accused 
himself  with  tears,  frozen  by  despair,  of  not 
having  loved  enough  I  He  feared  for  the 
graces  he  had  received,  being  convinced  that 
he  had  not  profited  enough  by  them  Im- 
possible to  restore  to  him  confidence.  Nei- 
ther exhortations,  nor  prayers,  nor  reasoning 
availed.  He  was  weighed  down  by  despair 
and,  as  it  were,  crushed  by  its  weight.  There 
was  no  other  remedy  than  to  say  "Ah,  well  I 
I  accept  this  state.  I  will  go  to  hell,  but 
Thou  wilt  come  with  me,  O  my  God  I  "  And 
he  found  peace  in  this  heroic  act  of  con- 
fidence. 

Oh!   those  temptations   to   despair  and   dis- 
couragement,   those   temptations   against   con- 


PARDONING    LOVE.  99 

fidence  in  God !  —  never  entertain  them  in 
your  soul.  Tell  them  to  your  superior  or  to 
your  confessor  Do  not  harbor  them  one 
instant,  for  they  attack  the  sources  of  the 
spiritual  life,  they  even  dry  up  that  of  the 
body.  Discouragement  and  despair  produce 
sadness,  of  which  the  Holy  Spirit  says  that  it 
IS  a  moth  that  preys  upon  the  marrow  of 
the  bones.  But  God's  mercy  is  life,  the  bright 
sun  of  life :  "  Misericordia  Dei  super  vitas ! 
—  The  mercy  of  God  is  better  than  lives!  " 

III.  —  But  see  how  God  pardons.  Ah!  it 
-is  -not  like  men.  Man  in  pardoning  shames 
the  culprit,  and  the  fear  of  shame  prevents 
the  child  from  asking  forgiveness.  The  good 
God  pardons  with  goodness.  His  forgiveness 
is  a  grace  which  restores  honor,  purifies, 
sanctifies,  embellishes.  It  is  one  same  act 
to  be  pardoned  and  to  become  holy.  It  at 
once  restores  the  robe  of  innocence,  the  white 
robe.  One  abases  himself  only  to  be  raised 
up   immediately   by   mercy. 

Men  grow  weary  of  pardoning.  They  are 
more  severe  toward  the  relapsing  sinner,  and 
impose    more    conditions    on    him.    But    the 


100  PARDONING  LOVE. 

more  He  pardons,  the  more  merciful  does 
God  seem  to  become.  Great  sinners  who 
return  to  Him  are  His  greatest  friends.  He 
came  for  the  sick,  and  for  one  sinner  He 
left  the  angels.  Provided  there  are  some 
humility  and  confidence  in  our  confession,  we 
are  always  sure  of  being  welcomed. 

God  pardons  absolutely  and  forever.  He 
casts  our  sins  behind  His  back,  say  the 
Scriptures,  He  plunges  them  into  the  sea, 
and  the  scarlet  of  crime  assumes  the  whiteness 
of  snow,  of  innocence,  in  the  bath  of  His  mer- 
cy. They  will  never  again  rise  up  to  accuse 
us!  I  love  this  thought  of  a  large  number 
of  theologians,  according  to  whom,  they  will 
not  even  be  mentioned  at  the  Last  Judgment, 
because  the  Lord  says  •  "  1  will  pardon  you 
them,  and  I  shall  remember  them  no  more!  * 

Only,  it  is  necessary  to  obtain  pardon  for 
them,  and  to  take  care  not  to  hold  on  to  the 
fag-ends  of  sin. 

Men  exact  some  punishment  for  pardon,  at 
least  the  loss  of  position  or  ci\nl  honor;  but 
Jesus  Christ  restores  to  us  our  honors, 
reestablishes  us  in  all  our  rights  as  before  we 


PARDONING  LOVE.  101 

sinned.  Thus  did  He  reestablish  Saint  Peter 
after  his  fall  and  confirm  him  in  his  charge 
of  Supreme  Pastor 

Jesus  ennobles  in  pardoning.  Of  Magdalen, 
the  sinner,  He  made  the  heroine  of  super- 
natural love,  and  He  publicly  praised  her  with 
the  most  beautiful  eulogium  a  God  can 
make:  '' Dllexit  muUu7n  —  She  hath  loved 
much ! 

He  bowed  down  to  the  ground  ni  order  not 
to  make  that  other  sinner  of  the  Gospel  blush. 
He  put  no  question  to  her  concerning  h'er 
offence;  but,  on  the  contrary,  He  accn3ed  her 
accusers:  ^^  Where  are  thetj  wJio  accused  thee? 
Hath  no  man  condemned  thee?"  He  placed 
her   above  them  all:    '' Go,and   ain  no  moreT' 

He  takes  sinners  and  makes  of  them  princes 
of  His  mercy  and  love,  like  Saint  Matthew, 
Saint  Paul,  and  so  many  others. 

And  could  one  become  discouraged  alter 
that?  Know,  then,  that  it  is  a  need  for  Our 
Lord  to  pardon.  His  Heart  is  weighed  down 
by  the  thought  of  the  necessity  of  condemning 
us.  He  weeps  over  us,  and  when  He  for- 
gives    us.     He    is    relieved    and    His    Heart 


102  PARDONING  LOVE. 

dilated  by  mercy.  If  Our  Lord  could  still 
suffer,  it  would  be  at  seeing  us  despairing 
of  His  mercy  and  failing  to  ask  pardon. 

But  it  is  to  us,  priests  and  religious,  that 
God's  mercy  especially  shows  itself.  We 
deserved  by  our  sins  to  be  degraded  from 
our  dignity,  as  the  world  does  its  magistrates 
and  officers  of  State.  But  then  He  would 
no  longer  have  priests  to  pardon  the  other 
sinners. 

Our  Lord  is  more  benevolent  toward  us. 
His  mercies  more  abundant  His  pardon  more 
full  of  kindness.  It  is  because  we  have  need 
of   more   pardon   than   others. 

It  is  this  that  ought  to  render  us  more 
lenient  toward  sinners.  Sinners  ourselves, 
pardoned  many  times,  still  having  need  of 
pardon  in  the  future,  shall  we  not  pardon? 

Let  us,  then,  have  faith  in  the  mercy  of 
God,  who  will  not  abandon  us  provided  we 
implore  it  ^nth  confidence  and  humility. 
Eternity  will  not  be  too  long  to  thank  Him 
for  His  infinite  mercies,  which  have  so  fre- 
quently restored  to  us  life  and  which  will  save 
us   on  the  day   of  the  Lord's  justice. 


^ 


THE   EUCHARIST, 


The  PRINCIPLE  of  the  SANGTI- 


FICATION  of  the  RELIGIOUS. 


^ 


UR  Lord  Jesus  Christ  in  the  Most 
Blessed  Sacrament  of  .  the  Altar  ought 
to-  be  the  principle  of  your  sanctification. 
That  is  just.  You  are  lodged  with  Him.  Are 
you  not  in  the  house  of  OUr  Lord?  The 
servant  dwelling  in  the  house  of  his  master, 
is  fed  by  him.  He  ought,  tRen,  to  labor 
for  him.  Now,  Our  Lord  will  sanctify  you 
if  you  labor  according  to  His  inspiration, 
under  His  eye,  and  through  love  for  Him. 
I.  —  One  must  work  under  the  inspiration  of 
Jesus  Christ.  That  must  guide  us  in  all  we 
do.  Do  you  understand  me?  There  are  two 
inspirations  that  determine  us  in  every  task, 
no  matter  what  it  is.  The  first  is  sensible, 
namely,  the  order  of  the  Superior  or  the 
sound  of  the  bell.  To  act  by  this  inspiration 
alone  does  not  suffice  to  make  a  work  meri- 
torious, for  we  can  bring  to  it  only  a  material 
obedience  like  to  that  with  'which  the  soldier 


104  THE     EUCHARIST,     PRINCIPLE 

executes  orders  at  the  command  of  his  gen- 
eral. To  obey  the  exterior  sign  is  but  the 
body  of  the  virtue  of  obedience.  A  soul 
is  necessary,  and  that  is  the  inspiration  of 
grace,  the  call  of  Our  Lord.  A  work  will  be 
perfect  if  we  join  the  interior  inspiration  of 
.Our  Lord  to  the  sign  that  imposes  it. 
'  How  must  we  draw  inspiration  from  Our 
Lord,  and  how  obey  Him  in  all  that  .we  do? 
By  recalling  His  Presence  in  the  Blessed 
Sacrament  and  by  praying  for  His  guidance. 
Do  not  go  to  seek  Our  Lord  in  heaven,  for 
He  is  nearer  to  you  than  that.  It  is  well; 
doubtless,  to  rise  toward  His  glorious  throne 
from  time  to  time,  and  to  desire  to  see  His 
splendor,  but  in  practical  life,  you  should 
have  Him  nearer  to  you,  and  it  is  in  the 
Most  Blessed  Sacrament  that  you  should 
seek  and  find  Him.  Our  Lord  might  say  to 
you:  "Why  do  you  neglect  My  Presence 
here?  Do  you  think  it  is  ol  no  importance 
and  that  you  can  do  without  it?  In  heaven 
I  am  the  God  of  glory  for  the  elect;  in  My 
Sacrament  I  am  the  God  of  grace  for  them 
that    struggle.  "    In    all    your    actions,    then, 


OF     SANCTIFICATION.  105 

draw  your   inspiration  from   His   Eucharistic 
Presence, 

How?  By  adoration,  by  prostrating  yourself 
in  spirit  at  His  feet,  by  renouncing  your 
own  natural  lights,  and  sentiments,  in  order 
to  ask  of  Him  the  how  of  all  things.  Ask  of 
Him  in  everything  the  best  means,  the  best 
thought,  the  best  way  by  acknowledging  your 
blindness  and  impotence.  Our  Lord  perform- 
ed nothing  but  by  the  inspiration  of  His 
Father.  He  read  iri  Him  how  He  should 
think,  judge,  speak,  and  act  Do  the  same 
with  regard  to  Jesus  Christ.  Then  you  will 
act  by  His  Spirit.  He  will  send  Him  to  you, 
for  the  Spirit  proceeds  from  Him,  and  He 
will  communicate  to  you  the  thought  and 
intention,  supernatural  and  divine,  of  Jesus 
Christ. 

This  first  inspiration  is  very  important,  be- 
feuse  it  ^ives  to  the  action  its  impetus  and 
character.  Let  us,  then,  labor  with  Our 
Lord  and  under.  His  orders,  since  He  is  so 
desirous  of  associating  us  with  Himself.  Let 
us  leave  the  direction  to  Him  and  follow  it. 
Let  us  be  His  docile  and  worthy  instruments, 

The  Divine  Eucharist.  8. 


106  THE     EUCHARIST,     PRINCIPLE 

by  submitting  to  Him  all  our  faculties,  all 
our  activity.  Let  Him  direct  everything  to 
which  they  may  be  applied.  It  is  for  Him, 
the  chief  Organ  and  Head  of  the  spiritual 
body,  to  give  the  impetus  and  direction.  Faith 
is  not  enough.  The  union  of  souls  in  love  is 
necessary, 

11.  —  You  must  perform  your  actions  under 
the  eye  of  Jesus  Christ  in  the  Most  Blessed 
Sacrament  that  you  may  do  them  cour 
ageously,   holDy,   and  with  pleasure. 

Know  that  the  eye  of  Jesus  Christ  is  di- 
rectly upon  you.  How  dare  we  offend  Him 
under  His  very  eyes,  for  He  sees  us  as  we 
would  see  Him  were  the  veil  of  the  Sacred 
Species  to  fall?  But,  like  the  guilty  old  men 
of  the  Scriptures,  we  turn  our  back  on  the 
eye  of  Our  Lord  in  order  to  sin,  otherwise 
we  should  never  dare  offend  Him.  The  Jews 
who  insulted  Him  in  the  praetorium  covered 
His  adorable  Face.  His  glance  would  have 
touched  them  or  blasted  them  as  by  lightning. 
Ah!  if  we  thought  that  Our  Lord,  who  is 
so  near  us  on  the  altar  and  in  His  taber- 
nacle, inasmuch  as  one  same  roof  covers  us, 


OF     SANCTIFICATION.  107 

is  eye-witness  of  every  one  of  our  actions, 
and  that  at  the  end  of  the  day  we  should 
have  to  appear  in  His  august  Presence  to 
render  Him  an  account  of  it,  how  faithful, 
diligent,  and  holy  we  should  be  in  all  our 
ways!  Do,  then,  as  Abraham,  and  hearken 
to  Our  Lord  saying  to  you  from  His  taber- 
nacle:  "Walk  before  Me  and  he  perfect." 

True,  God  is  everywhere,  but  we  have  need 
for  Him  to  draw  near  to  us  under  sensible 
signs,  and  this  is  what  He  does  in  the 
Blessed    Sacrament. 

Think,  then,  that  He  is  there.  That  Pres. 
ence  is  sweeter,  is  recalled  more  easily  than 
the  presence  of  the  invisible,  the  impalpable 
Divinity.  It  is  less  easily  forgotten.  Recall 
it  everywhere,  whatever  you  may  be  doing; 
and  know  that  it  is  His  human  glance,  the 
eye  of  the  glorified  and  risen  Body  that 
follows  you  through  walls,  and  never  loses 
sight  of  you. 

ni.  —  Act  always  through  love  for  Our  Lord 
in  the  Most  Blessed  Sacrament.  Do  all  for 
Him,  and  nothing  but  for  Him  alone.  You 
have  not  entered  religion  to  make  for  your- 


108  THE     EUCHARIST,     PRINCIPLE 

self  a  position  there,  you  are  no  longer 
hirelings  and  day-laborers.  You  have  come 
through  love  and  to  sacrifice  yourselves, 
hence,  your  own  personality  is  of  no  account 
and   it   can  never   be   your   end. 

Love  even  the  things  and  persons  of  reli- 
gion, Its  means  and  graces,  because  they  are 
a  part  of  the  family  and  form  its  resources 
for  the  service  of  Our  Lord.  But  do  not  make 
them  the  end  and  aim  of  your  life.  Would 
you  make  some  person,  some  employment,  or 
some  work  the  end  of  your  love?  All  such 
things  are  created,  and  they  will  like  your- 
self come  to  an  end.  Would  you,  then,  labor 
for  man?    That  would  be  to  miss  your  end. 

Our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  alone  can  be  the 
end  of,  your  love.  Labor,  then,  for  love  of 
Him.  Let  all  your  actions  be  dictated  by 
this  sentiment:  "My  Lord  and  my  God,  I 
love  Thee,  and  I  prove  it  to  Thee  by  per- 
forming this  action.  "  Provided  God  be 
pleased,  do  you  be  satisfied.  Of  what  account 
to  you  is  all  the  rest? 

But  it  is  in  the  Blessed  Sacrament  that 
Jesus  ought  to  be  your  end,  therefore,  perform 


OF     SANCTIFICATION.  109 

all  yoiir  actions  in  view  of  Holy  Communion. 
Let  that  be  the  pivot  of  your  day,  the  centre 
of  your  life,  whence  all  radiates  and  to  which 
all  converges.  Let  all  you  do,  be  a  prep- 
aration to  receive  Our  Lord,  or  a  thanksgiving 
for  having  received.  As  Communion  is  the 
end  here  below  of  all  the  mysteries  of  Jesus 
Christ's  life,  let  it  be  the  end  of  your  life, 
also.  It  alone  is  worthy  of  being  your  end, 
the  end  in  which  you  will  abide  in  which  you 
will  take  your  rest,  for  it  aJone  perfectly  gives 
you  Jesus  Christ,  and  allows  you  tQ  dwell  in 
Him'.  Virtues,  good  acts,  are  only  means  for 
attaining   perfect   union   with   Him. 

With  this  end  and  intention,  all  your  ac- 
tions will  unite  to  form  the  bouquet  you  will 
offer  to  your  Saviour  the  next  time  He 
comes  to  you,  the  day  after  to-morrow,  or 
even  to-morrow  itself 

Our  .Lord  will  come  to  give  the  finishing 
touch  to  your  actions,  the  last  increase  to 
your  merits,  by  His  personal  union  with  you. 
By  renewing  your  love.  He  will  renew  all  your 
habits  of  virtue.  He  will  increase  them  by 
increasing  your  love.    He  will  produce  closer 


110  THE     EUCHARIST,     PRINCIPLE 

union,  strengthen  and  render  more  effectual 
mutual  society  and  action.  You  will  act  with 
Him  in  one  same  act,  one  same  intention. 
Your  life  will  be  but  one  prolonged  act 
of  thanksgixdng  in  which  Jesus  will  inspire 
and  conduct  you,  and  in  which  you  will 
be  only*  th^  executor  to  reproduce  exteriorly, 
by  your  faculties  and  members,  by  your  exte- 
rior life,  the  di\nne  life  that  He  leads  in  your 
soul,  for  it  is  no  longer  you  who  will  then 
live,   but   He  who  will  live  in  you. 

Hold  on  to  these  principles  of  life.  Fear 
not  to  live  with  Our  Lord,  under  His  inspira- 
tion, His  eye,  in  His  love.  That  alone  can 
make  the  religious  life  sweet  and  agreeable. 
Without  that,  it  is  a  galley  where  men  are 
condemned  forever  to  forced  labor.  Go  di- 
rectly to  Him.  ■  Live  of  Him.  Live  in  Him. 
The  zig-zag  line  does  not  lead  straight  to 
the  end.  Lose  not  your  time  in  the  means. 
Behold  here  the  grand  means,  the  really 
fruitful  principle.  Love  the  Blessed  Virgin 
and  the  saints.  Invoke  them.  Help  yourself 
by  their  example,  implore  their  aid;  but  let 
all   this   be   only   to   help  you   to   reach   Our 


OF     SANCTIFICATION. 


Ill 


Lord.  Then  offer  to  Him  your  actions  and 
your  life,  for  He  is  your  centre  and  your 
end,  and  the  centre  and  end  of  the  saints 
themselves. 


JESUS  in  the  EUCHARIST, 


the  MODEL  of  the  three  VOWS. 


UR  Lord  in  His  Sacrament  is  the  prin- 
ciple of  our  holiness;  still  more,  He  is 
our  model.  The  law. is  not  sufficient  for  us; 
we  must  see  it  accomplished  to  understand  it 
well.  Our  Lord  presents  Himself  as  our 
model  that  we  may  follow  and  reproduce 
Him:   "Ve7ii,  sequere  Me!" 

Now,  we  must  take  Our  Lord  where  He 
shows  Himself  to  us,  and  that  is  in  the  Blessed 
Sacrament.  He  continues  the  Gospel  under 
our  eyes.  The  Eucharist  ought  to  be  our 
Gospel.  It  is  a  living  Gospel.  Why  would 
you  deprive  yourselves  of  the  sight  of  His 
Person  in  order  to  read  His  word,  which 
comes  do\vn  to  you  through  nineteen  cen- 
turies? And  indeed,  the  Gospel  itself  is  a 
closed  book  if  Our  Lord  does  not  open  it. 
It  is  in  the  Blessed  Sacrament  that  He  un- 
folds it,  that  He  comments  upon  it,  throws 
light  upon  it  by  His  virtues,  renewing  and 
continuing  them  under  our  eyes.     It  is,  then. 


JESUS,   MODEL  OF  THE  THREE  VOWS.    113 

Our  Sacramental  Lord  whom  the  religious 
ought  to  take  for  his  model.  Study  Him 
there.  "Follow  Me",  and  this  other  word: 
"  Looic  and  malce  according  to  the  Model  that 
has  been  shown  thee,  "  are  for  all  time.  They 
are,    then,   for   us,   also. 

What  is  it  to  be  a  religious?  It  is  to  be 
a  man  who  offers  and  immolates  himself  to 
God  by  poverty,  chastity,  and  obedience, 
which  he  has  vowed  forever. 

I.  —  You  must,  then,  of  necessity  be  poor, 
since  you  have  vowed  it.  Poverty  consists  in 
having  nothing  and  in  expecting  from  chari- 
ty even  the  most  necessary  things  of  life. 
True,  in  consequence  of  the  instability  of 
the  times  and  the  adverse  spirit  of  civil 
governments,  the  Church  is  constrained  no 
longer  to  admit  Congregations  to  the  solemn 
vows,  by  which  the  religious  renounces  all 
propriety  over  his  possessions.  By  the  simple 
vow  of  poverty  lie  renounces  only  the  use  and 
disposal  of  them,  retaining  the  ownership ;  but 
as  far  as  regards  tlie  vractice  of  poverty,  the: 
simple  vow  differs  in  nothing  from  the  solemn.^ 

All,    then,   that  you  have   for  your   use,   ia 


114  JESUS,   MODEL   OF   THE   THREE   VOWS. 

lent  you  by  the  Congregation.  If  you  regard 
it  as  your  o^vn,  you  fail  in  poverty.  If  you 
say:  It  is  mine,  you  steal.  The  Superior  is 
obliged  to  take  away  from  the  religious  all 
to  which  he  appears  to  be  attached,  in  order 
to  hinder  him  from  transgressing  his  vow. 
Take  care  that,  after  having  renounced  great 
things,  you  do  not  attach  yourselves  to  little 
ones,  and  that  your  heart  be  not  caught  and 
bound  by  trifles  in  a  way  that  it  was  not 
amid   the  abundance   of  wealth   and  fortune. 

Behold  a  most  important  subject  for 
examination.  See  whether  you  are  perfectly 
free   with   regard   to  all   things. 

Or  rather,  look  upon  Our  Lord  in  His 
Sacrament,  and  compare  your  poverty  with 
His. 

Wh3.t  does  He  possess?  Of  what  does  He 
nnake  use  exteriorly?  Neither  glory  nor  maj- 
esty nor  any  of  the  attributes  of  His  Di- 
vinity; and  the  same  of  the  faculties  of  His 
Sacred  Humanity.  He  leaves  all  His  posses- 
sions in  heaven  to  be  the  joy  of  the  blessed. 
He  comes  with  only  His  Divinity  and  Human- 
ity to  give  Himself  to  us,  and  in  our  breast 


JESUS,    MODEL   OF  THE  THREE  VOWS.    115 

even  to  despoil  Himself  of  thepi  by  Holy 
Communion.  Be  like  Him,  naked  and  pos- 
sessing nothing  but  your  good  will.  The 
Faithful  give  Our  Lord  all  that  He  needs, 
for  He  consents  to  receive  as  an  alms  the 
roof  that  shelters  Him,  the  articles  that  serve 
for  His  Sacrifice  and  Communion,  even  the 
white  linen  on  which  He  reposes.  He  does 
not  own  all  this  as  net  property.  It  may 
be  taken  from  Him  at  any  moment,  and 
He  will  not  defend  it.  Still  more!  He  has  re- 
nounced  all  right  over  Himself.  They  may  do 
to  Him  whatever  they  please.  He  resists  no 
treatment,  whatever  it  may  be. 

Our  Lord  is  not  annoyed  at  being  poorly 
served,  provided  it  is  with  good  will.  He 
rejects  nothing.  He  is  willing  to  make  use 
of  anything.  Ah!  He  espouses  holy  poverty. 
It  is   His   inseparable  companion. 

If  poverty  sometimes  costs,  raise  your  eyes, 
and  look  upon  Jesus  in  the  Eucharist.  He 
is  still  poorer  than  you,  He  has  much  less 
than  you.  You  will  never  equal  His  pover- 
ty.  He  keeps  only  the  species,  not  even  the 
small  substance  that  would  represent  a  host, 


116   JESUS,    MODEL    OF   THE   THREE   VOWS. 

if  it  remained  bread.  Xo,  He  has  but  the 
appearances  of  bread  and  wine,  the  accidents 
without  substance.  Is  there  anything  that  so 
nearly  approaches  nothingness?  That  is  all 
the  property  of  Jesus  Eucharistic.  Ah!  study 
and  imitate  this  august  poverty.  You  have 
not  yet  reached  the  day  when  you  will  be 
entirely  separated  from  all  things  and  from 
yourself. 

And  yet  it  is  then  that  you  will  find  liberty. 
The  Imitation  says  that  to  be  free,  we  must 
seek  rather  to  have  less  than  more.  Poverty 
is  the  independence  of  the  freedman  of  Jesus 
Christ,  of  His  voluntary  slave,  When  re- 
ligious bodies  have  become  wealthy,  they  have 
perished. 

The  day  on  v.'hich  the  religious  says :  "  I  am 
rich,  I  have  need  of  nothing,  "  on  that  day 
he  ceases  to  be  a  religious,  and  the  wrath 
of  God  will  fall  upon  the  foundations  of  the 
Order  which  uses  such  language.  As  long 
as  a  religious  body  labors,  confidently  ex- 
pecting its  help  from  God,  it  prospers,  it  is 
sure  of  success. 

This    does    not    mean    that    a   Society    may 


JESUS,   MODEL  OF  THE  THREE   VOWS.    117 

not  possess  anything.  It  belongs  to  the  Rule 
to  provide,  for  it. 

II.  —  Our  Lord  is  the  model  of  chastity. 
This  is  the  second  of  the  vows  by  which  we 
promise  God  to  love  only  Him",  never  to  love 
any  one  who  might  take  a  part  of  that  love, 
for  you  give  it  entirely  to  Him  by  the 
beautiful  vow  of  chastity. 

The  grace  of  purity  comes  only  from  Our 
Lord.  Communion  gives  it,  increases  it, 
strengthens  it,  preserves  and  maintains  it 
against  all  the  assaults  of  hell,  the  world, 
and  the  flesh.  You  drink  there  the  virginal 
Blood  of  the  spotless  Lamb.  It  is  absolutely, 
true  that,  without  Communion,  one  cannot  be 
chaste. 

In  His  Eucharist,  Jesus  is  the  very  essehce 
of  piurity.  He  is  so  pure  that  He  unites 
Himself  to  no  body,  not  even  to  the  substance 
of  the  bread,  since  He  destroys  it  in  order 
to  take  its  place;  nor  even  to  the  visible 
accidents,  for  He  is  united  to  them  neither 
substantially  nor  personally.  He  desires  only 
a  form  without  matter,  which  cannot  touch 
Him. 


118  JESUS,   MODEL   OF   THE  THREE   VOWS. 

This  teaches  us  that  we  ought  to  love  no 
one,  nor  unite  ourselves  to  any  one  soever 
£or  himself.  Unite  yourselves  to  souls  for 
Our  Lord,  but  for  them,  ne\er!  None  of 
those  unions  in  some  way  substantial,  in 
which  hearts  become  one,  in  which  souls 
lose  themselves  in  one  another,  are  absorbed 
by  one  another,  so  to  speak!  No,  no  union^ 
no  commingling.  One  must  be  a  virgin  in 
heart,  as  well  as  in  body. 

If  in  the  past  you  have  lost  this  beautiful 
treasure,  know  that  we  are  made  over,  creat- 
ed anew  when  we  embrace  the  re  igious  life. 
Baptism  created  us  in  Jesus  Christ.  The  re- 
ligious profession  is  a  Baptism.  Some  com- 
pare it  to  martyrdom.  You  have  drawn  from 
it,  with  new  life,  new  purity.  Guard  it  well, 
and  to  that  end  receive  Communion.  Let 
Our  L8rd  come  into  you  to  practise  in  you 
Himselif    the   holy   virtue   of   purity. 

In  temptations,  when  they  redouble  and 
show  themselves  menacing,  pray,  and  com- 
municate more  frequently  than  you  "have  been 
accustomed  to  do-  Extinguish  the  impure  fire 
of  hell  by  the  fire  of  divine  love.    It  is  Jesus 


JESUS,   MODEL   OF  THE  THREE   VOWS.    119 

who  commands  the  winds  ajid  the  tempests. 
They  are  calmed  aj;  His  voice.'  Receive,  then, 
frequently  Purity  in  its  essence,  Jesus  Christ, 
the  God  of  all  purity. 

III.  —  The  vow  of  obedience  comsummates 
the  sacrifice  of  the  religious.  It  is  the 
essential  vow  of  religion.  It  alone  might 
suffice,  for  it  eminently  comprises  the  others. 
It  perfects  the  holocaust  begun  by  poverty  ir 
the  goods  of  fortune,  and  continued  by  chasti- 
ty in  those  of  the  body,  by  offering  to  God 
the  liberty,  the  will,  even  the  essence  of  man, 
his   freedom   of   choice,  and  his   personality. 

Adore  now  the  obedience  of  Our  Lord  .in 
the  Blessed  Sacrament.  What  promptitude  I 
What  passive,  blind,  absolute  submission, 
without  condition  or  reserve!  The  priest  is 
His  master,  whom  He  always  obeys,  whether 
he  be  holy,  fervent,  or  not.  He  obeys  all 
the  Faithful  who  oblige  Him  to  come  to  them 
by  Communion,  when  and  as  often  as  they 
present  themselves.  His  obedience  is  lasting, 
constant,  ever  ready  1  And  He  is  the  Son  of 
God,  who  rules,  the  whole  universe!  And  it 
is.  He,   His   power,   that  gives   life  and  pre- 


120  JESUS,   MODEL   OF   THE  THREE  VOWS. 

serves  it  to  those  same  people  whom  He 
wills  thus  to  obey  with .  the  absolute  sub- 
mission of  a  slave.  He  has  no  more  right 
over  His  actions,  over  His  Body,  nor  over  His 
life  itself,  for  He  delivers  up  even  His  lifel 

There  are  priests  of  whom  we  might  ask 
whether  they  offer  the  thrice-holy  Sacrifice,  or 
rather  perform  an  insulting  parody  of  it : 
Sacrificat  an  insulted}  And  Our  Lord  recoils 
not  before  the  sacrileges  that  He  receives. 
He  will  be  obedient  to  them,  always  obe- 
dient   until    death! 

Probably,  your  obedience  will  not  be  call- 
ed on  to  go  so  far.  To  render  homage  to 
the  obedience  of  Our  Lord,  obey  Him  at 
least  in  your  Superiors  and  their  representa- 
tives. Read  His  orders  even  in  your  Rule. 
Regard  neither  the  person  who  commands 
nor  the  act  to  be  performed,  whether  it  is 
honorable  or  humiliating.  Some  one  gives 
you  an  order,  go!  There  is  but  one  prin- 
ciple of  authority,  and  that  is  God.  He  speaks 
through  different  instruments,  and  the  more 
hiunblc  His  organ,  the  more  meritorious  will 
be   your   obedience. 


JESUS,   MODEL   OF  THE  THREE   VOWS.   121 

Only  do  not ,  lose  sight  of  Our  Lord  in 
His  Sacrament  of  obedience,  if  you  would 
have  the  strength  to  obey  always,  in  every- 
thing, promptly  and  joyously.  Whatl  Our 
Lord  comes  to  you  whenever  you  wish.  You 
choose  your  hour,  you  yourself  measure  your 
dispositions,  you  present  yourself,  and  He  is 
already  there.  And  you?  You  will  not  go 
whither  He  tells  you  by  the  voice  of  your 
Superior!  And  you  will  not  do  all  that  He 
wishes!    Are  you,    then,   greater   than   He? 

No,  obey  in  mihtary  style.  Set  off  at  the 
first  word.  Execute  punctually.  The  soldier 
knows  no  obstacle  to  his  orders,  and  regards 
no  one  when  there  is  question  of  executing 
them.    Do  you  do  likewise. 

Obey  as  the  angels  whose  outspread  wings 
attest  with  what  promptitude  and  joy  they 
fulfil   the   least   command   of    God. 

Obey  as  does  Our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  Oh, 
how  consoling  to  be  able  to  say  that,  by 
our  vows,   we  do  what  Our  Lord  does! 

Thus,  Our  Lord  in  His  Sacrament  will  be 
your  model  in  your  religious  virtues,  as  He 
is,  your  principle  and  your  end. 

The  Divin    Eucharist.  o 


122   JESUS,    MODEL   OF  THE  THREE   VOWS.. 

IV.  —  Something  more  is  necessary  on  the 
part  of  Our  Lord,  and  that  is,  He  must  come 
to  practise  them  Himself  in  you.  By  your 
union  with  Him,  it  is  necessary  for  you  to 
do  more  than  a  single  moral  person,  inasmuch 
as  He  gives  the  life,  inspiration,  grace,  and 
merit,  and  that  you  act  only  as  His  member 
and   organ. 

Comprehend  well  this  grand  principle.  Our 
Lord  who  has  assumed  the  state  .of  all  the 
virtues  in  the  Blessed  Sacrament,  having  en- 
tered into  His  glory,  can  no  longer  make 
meritorious  acts  of  them.  Nevertheless.  He 
ardently  desires  to  practise  them  for  the  glory 
of  His  Father.  He  wishes  to  live  again,  to 
find  a  soul  capable  of  meriting,  with  faculties 
that  can  truJy  love,  labor,  and  sacrifice.  It 
is  for  this  that  He  unites  Himself  to  His 
Faithful,  who  become  His  members.  He  is 
their  Chief,  their  Head,  their  moral  and  su- 
pernatural  Heart.  He  pours  into  them  His 
grace,  His  divine  sap,  moving  them,  making 
them  act  and  labor.  Then  He  performs  in 
them  meritorious  and  satisfactory  works.  He 
takes    on   again    His   life    of   viator,    His    In- 


JESUS,    MODEL   OF  THE  THREE  VOWS     123 

carnation  is  recommenced.  The  Father  sees 
Him  again  poor,  chaste,  obedient,  meek,  and 
humble  as  in  the  days  of  His  -mortal  life. 
He  lives  again  in  us.  Our  actions  are  His  as 
much  as  our  pwn.  The  supernatural  life 
exists  entirely  in  this  union  of  companionship 
and  life.  Let  us  enter  into  it,  preserve  it 
well,  render  it  more  and  more  close,  until  we 
reach  the  point  of  doing  nothing,  absolutely 
nothing  of  ourselves,  whether  by  our  reason, 
our  heart,  our  faculties,  or  our  senses,  human 
and  natural,  that  cannot  mount  to  God,  that 
cannot  effect  something  for  His  glory,,  and 
even  for  our  own  eternal  happiness.  It  is 
a  little  thing  to  act  upon  others.  But  let  our 
whole  life,  our-  thoughts  and  actions  be  pro- 
duced in-  us  by  Jesus  Christ,  who  makes 
Himself  our  soul  and  our  heart,  our  mind 
and  our  thought,  who  does  all  in  us  and 
in  all  things,  who  desires  to  replace  our 
life  by  His  own  life;  our  natural  being,  the 
being  of  Adam,  by  His  own  supernatural 
being,  the  being  of  the  Son  of  God;  who, 
in  a  word,  wills  to  substitute  His  own  Per- 
sonality  for    ours    in   order   to  make   us   His 


124   JESUS,    MODEL   OF   THE  THREE   VOWS. 

second  self,  acting  only  by  the  Father,  for 
the  Father,  in  Jesus  Christ,  His  Son,  and  in 
His  Holy  Spirit.  Then  we  shall  be  true  re- 
ligious and  saints,  and  God  will  find  His 
glory    and    pleasure    in    us! 


j^*i&Si&*i&*^«;^*&23&!i&l!^«&!!&!^i!^i!&Sa&^S!&!!^ 


^ 


HUMILITY. 


1^ 


|hich    are   the   foundations   of   sanctity? 
iWe  may  answer  in  a  single  word,  Jesus 
Christ  is  the  model,  the  grace,  and  the  end. 

He  is  the  necessary  model,  in  Him  we 
must  view  the  virtues  in  order  to  comprehend 
them.  A  virtue  is.  but  the  reproduction  of 
some  one  of  His  actions,  the  imitation  of 
Jesus  Christ  in  some  one  of  His  acts.  It  is 
all  very  well  in  theory  to  define  virtue  in 
itself;  but  to  imderstand  it,  and  above  all  to 
reproduce  it  supernaturally,  it  must  be  studied 
in  Jesus  Christ,  otherwise  we  see  and  perform 
only  natural  virtues. 

Jesus  is  the  grace,  as  well  as  the  model, 
of  every  virtue:  ''Without  Me,"  He  says, 
"  you  can  do  nothing.  "  We  must,  then,  be 
helped  by  Him.  The  work  of  virtue  is  only 
a  co-operation  with  the  divine  action  of  Jesus 
Christ  in  us.  He  comes  to  aid  us  and  to 
make  us  do  what  He  Himself  is  doing. 

He  should  be,  also,  the  end  of  the  virtues 
and  of  holiness.  Every  virtue  must  become 
His  in  order  to  be  pleasing  to  God,  and  we 


126  HUMILITY. 


will  be  crowned  only  in  Him  and  by  Him 
as  members  under  their  only  Head.  This 
being  premised,  let  us  study  the  virtues  of 
Jesus  Christ  most  necessary  for  the  religious. 

I.  —  Now,  the  great  virtue  of  Jesus 
Christ  is  humility  "Learn  of  Me,''  He  says, 
''because  I  am  meek  and  humble  of  Heart." 
He  makes  humility  jHis  characteristic,  His 
dominant  virtue,  in  the  very  depths  of  His 
Heart  and  His  divine  and  human  character. 
As  God,  He  humbles  Himself;  as  Man,  He 
humbles  Himself  still  more.  In  everything, 
everywhere,  we  discover  that  humility  which 
is  His  name,  His  sign,  and  His  seal,  as 
Saint  Augustine  says .  "  To  name  Jesus  Christ 
is  to  point  out  humility:  Ciwi  Christum  no- 
mino,  maxime  vobis  humilitas  commendatur,'' 

Our  Lord,  not  being  able  to  humble  Himself 
for  His  sins,  since  He  had  never  committed 
any,  embraced  humility  through  love,  choice, 
and  complacency.  As  for  ourselves,  we  must 
be  humble  both  on  account  of  our  sins  and 
for  love  of  Jesus  Christ  humiliated.  The  first 
kind  of  humility  is  negative;  the  second,  pos- 
itive. 


HUMILITY.  127 


Now,  Jesus  Christ  manifests  His  humility 
in  His   dependence  on  His  Divine  Father. 

He  refers  to  Him  all  glory,  and  declares 
that  He  Himself  receives  from  Him  His  being-, 
action,  word,  even  His  thought.  If  men 
proclaim  Hini  good,  He  xeplies  that  God 
alone  is  good.  If  they  ask  of  Him  miracles. 
He  invokes  His  Father  before  working  them, 
as  if  demanding  of  Him  the  power  to  do  so, 
and  He  avows  that  the  Son  has  nothing  of 
Himself:  " Filius  a  se  non'habet  quidquam." 
He  is  Man.  His  human  nature  is  created 
and  dependent  on  God.  He  desires  to  main- 
tain it  in  this  dependence  in  the  eyes  of  all, 
in  order  to  give  us  the  most  sublime  example 
of  humility,  for  that  same  humanity,  by  its 
union  with  the  Word,  was  worthy  of  acting 
by  itself  and  of  receiving  all  homage  and 
adoration.  But  Our  Lord  wished  to  inculcate 
humility  by  practising  it  in  voluntary  and 
and  absolute  dependence  on  His  Father. 

When  there  is  question  of  natural  trials  and 
humiliations,  He  embraces  them  eagerly, 
submits  to  them  even  to  their  last  conse- 
quences, undergoing  .the  humiliation  of  weak- 


128  HUMILITY. 


ness,  fatigue,  sadness,  dejection,  fear,  dis- 
couragement, and  disgust.  He  then  speaks 
and   complains   as    ]\Ian. 

Behold  the  humility  of  Jesus  Christ!  Truly, 
humiliation  in  itself  is  not  lovable.  It  is 
enough  to  endure  it  patiently.  But  viewed 
in  Jesus  Christ,  practised  with  Him  and  in 
Him,  —  how  it  changes  its  appearance  and 
becomes  transformed!  It  U  no  longer  humil- 
iation, it  is  Jesus  Christ  humbled,  and  He 
is  nowhere  so  lovable  as  in  His  humiliations. 

We  must  see,  also,  humility  in  Mary.  She 
is  the  most  humble  of  creatures,  and  yet 
she  was  not  condemned  to  humility  by  her 
sins,  for  she  had  none;  nor  by  the  fear  of 
falling,  for  her  -love  united  her  indissolubly  to 
God.  But  she  is  humble,  through  love, 
through  choice.  Tliat  is  positive  humility, 
which  is  no  other  than  the  entire  renun- 
ciation and  abnegation  of  self,  in  order  to 
receive,  to  live,  to  depend  in  all  things  only 
on  God.  Though  Mary  ravished  God  by  her 
purity,  she  became  His  Mother  by  her  hu- 
mility 

II  —  Here    is    the   first-class    humility    that 


HUMILITY.  129 


we  ought  to  imitate,  although  sianers  and 
condemned  necessarily  to  humble  ourselves 
by  our- state. 

Let  us  then,  refer  all  to  God.  Return  to 
Him  His  graces,  which  He  lends  you  only  that 
you  may  make  them  fructify  to  His  profit 
and  glory.  Do  not  pride  yourselves  on  God's 
gifts.  Do.  not  appropriate  them,  as  if  they 
came  from  yourself,  but  confess  that  they  are 
from  God.  Do  not  rely  on  them,  as  if  they 
were  part  and  parcel  of  what  is  naturally  your 
due;  but  maintain  yourself  in  a  constant  and 
actual  dependence  on  God,  as  receiving  al- 
ways, but  never  possessing.  Acknowledge 
that  the  state  of  grace  itself  which  seems 
connatural  to  you,  actually  flows  from  God. 
that  it  is  preserved  by  a  positive  decree  of 
His  mercy,  and  that  of  yourself  you  are 
but  nothingness  and  absolute  impotence. 
Take  notice  that  Lucifer  fell  only  for  having 
considered  his  gifts  as  coming  from  himself, 
and  for  having  thought  himself  sufficient 
for  himself  while,  in  truth,  he  existed  and  act- 
ed only  through  the  divine  influence  of  grace. 
You  will   say,   perhaps,   that   since  you  co- 


130  HUMILITY. 


operate  with  grace,  a  part  of  the  result  ought 
to  be  attributed  to  you,  and  that  you  may 
share  the  fruits  at  least  by  the  right  of  the 
farmer  whose  labor  increases  the  value  of 
his  master's  lands.  Not  at  all  I  Your  own 
labor  becomes  valuable  only  by  the  grace 
which  accompanies  it,  elevating  it,  rendering, 
it  supernatural  and  meritorious,  just  as  it  had 
commenced  it.  Doubtless,  God  will  reward 
you,  but  it  will  be  His  own  gifts  that  He 
will  crown  in  your  merits.  And  so,  there 
is  no  moment,  neither  at  the  commencement, 
the  middle,  nor  the  end,  when  you  may 
consider  yourself  as  acting  by  yourself,  by 
your  own  strength.  But  you  are  always 
moved,  elevated,  acted  upon,  by  grace,  by 
Jesus  Christ,  as  theology  says,  like  the 
member  which  operates  only  under  the  di- 
rection of  the  head  and  conjointly  with  it 
by  the  mind,  the  movement,  and  the  life 
that  it  communicates  to  it.  Now,  Jesus  Christ 
is  our  Head,  caput.  To  that  august  Chief 
be  the  honor  and  glory  of  the  victory,  the 
fruit  and  the  result  of  the  labor,  as  in  heaven 
they     chant     honor,      strength,     power,     and 


HUMILITY.  131 


thanksgiving  to  God  and  to  the  Lamb  "who  has 
conquered! 

Alas,  that  we  should  rob  the  good  God  in 
the  spiritual  life  I  Let  us  say  with  Saint  Paul: 
"Not  I,  but  the  grace  of  God  with  me!" 
And  let  us  hold  on  to  that  word  of  Jesus 
Christ:  ''Without  Me  you  can  do  nothing, 
absolutely   nothing.  " 

But  in  practice,  man  is  naturally  a  Pe- 
lagian. He  believes  himself  all-sufficient.  He 
first  has  recourse  to  his  own  resources,  he 
makes  use  of  his  own  means,  he  forms  his 
own  plans  before  asking  God's_  help,  so  little 
is  he  impressed  by  his  own  -absolute  insuffi- 
ciency and  his  necessary  dependence  on  God ! 
He  will  soon  consent  to  be  helped,  and  he 
will  pray  to  be  delivered  from  embarrassment, 
but  he  will  not  begin  by  turning  to  God 
before  putting  his  hand  to  the  task.  Re- 
nounce self,  then.  Know  for  certain  and  for 
all  time  that  of  yourself  you  can  never  ac- 
complish anything,  neither  here  nor  there, 
neither  today  nor  to  morrow,  neither  for  this 
one  nor  for  that  one,  and  go  ask  God's  help 
before  beginning-  anything  whatsoever.    This 


132  HUMILITY. 


is  true  humility;  to  omit  it,  is  stupidity.  We 
should  perform  prodigies  did  we  act  in  this 
way,  for  it  would  be  God  who  would  operate 
in  us.  But  we  do  just  the  contrary.  How 
much  time  we  lose  in  experimenting,  in  leav- 
ing oft,  in  taking  up  again,  and  in  failing! 
How  many  towers  of  Ba'bel!  We  work,  we 
perspire,  we  fatigue  ourselves.  We  quail  not 
even  before  failure.  Pride  comes  in  and. 
when  we  are  in  dead  earnest,  we  would 
rather  wear  ourselves  out  than  desist.  But 
because  God  has  no  hand  in  it,  nothing 
bears  fruit.  He  looks  down  upon  this  stren- 
uous labor,  and  He  brmgs  it  to  confusion 
and  ruin.  Beware  of  that!  When  holy  obe- 
dience does  not  oblige  you  to  it,  and  you 
are  tenacious  of  a  certain  work,  it  is  pride 
that  is  urging  you  on,  and  you  are  sowing 
in    the    whirlwind ! 

Be  humble,  then,  before,  during,  after.  To 
be  humble  is  to  depend  on  God,  to  be  under 
His  hand,  without  supporting  one's  self  upon 
self,  but  only  on  His  all-powerful  arm. 

ni.  —  Behold  in  what  positive  humility  con- 
sists!   Sin  counts  for  nothing  there.  —  Behold 


HUMILITY,  133 


the  negative,  to  which  we  are  bound  by  our 
original  sin,  and  the  state  in  which  it  places 
IIS  before  God,  Although  pur  fied  from  the 
stain  by  Baptism,  we  bear  within  us  a  nature 
infected  by  sin,  bruised  by  sin,  whose  pores 
are  open  to  sin,  absolute  poverty,  pitiable 
misery.  Alas  I  a  weak  mind,  a  feeble  heart 
thoroughly-  vitiated  —  this  is  what  we  must 
recognize  and  confess  before  God  and  man. 
This  ought  to  give  us  an  inward  and;  as  it 
were,  natural  feeling  of  humility,  like  the 
weakness  and  ignorance  of  the  child  who 
says  so  simply:  "I  cannot,  1  do  not  know.  " 
This  is  necessary,  for  if  you  do  not  become, 
especially  in  this  point,  like  to  little  children, 
you  shall  not  enter  into  the  kingdom  of 
heaven. 

Still  more.  —  Our  personal  sins  are  another 
source  of  profound  humility  and  humiliation. 
1  am  a  sinner,  more  of  a  sinner  than  all  other 
men,  for  1  could  have  and  1  might  have 
done  all  that  they  have  done.  With  as  many 
graces  as  I,  they  would  not  have  been  so 
wicked  as  I.  That  is  the  truth.  The  truly 
humble  man  places  himself  below  all  others 


134  HUMILITY, 


in  his  own  esteem.  He  knows  that  he  de- 
serves the  last  place,  and  he  places  himself 
last.  Besides,  without  need,  of  comparisons 
and  proportions,  have  you  even  once  offend- 
ed God?  Well  then,  you  have,  you  your- 
self, crucified  Jesus  Christ  in  you.  Is  not  that 
sufficient  ?  And  if  you  have  frequently  offend- 
ed Him,  oh,  into  what  abysses  of  humility 
should  you  not  plunge  and  hide  yourself !  You 
have  multiplied  the  Passion,  the  Crucifixion, 
and  the  Death  of  Jesus  Christ  —  Rursnm  cm- 
cifigentes.  Keep  this  before  your  eyes,  and 
you  will  be  humble.  Bit,  you  will  say,  with 
such  a  thought  one  can  not  live.  Without 
doubt,  one  should  die  of  shame  and  remorse! 
Our  Lord  in  pity  pardons  us  and,  in  His 
goodness,  like  the  father  of  the  prodigal 
son,  veils  our  faults.  He  pardons,  he  has  for- 
gotten everything,  and  he  covers  his  boy's 
rags  with  festive  robes.  But  the  son  accuses 
himself,  humbles  himself,  and  rehearses  his 
wanderings.  Behold  true  humility!  Well,  if 
He  forgets,  let  us  not  forget.  Let  us  not 
fear  to  descend,  for  God  will  raise  us  up. 
Pride    remains    in   humiliation,    glorying    like 


HUMILITY.  135 


the  cynic  in  its  abject  condition,*  but  grace 
raises  the  humble  soul  making  it  rebound  in 
proportion  to  its  voluntary  abasement.  Hu- 
mility is  the  fountain  of  living  water  which 
shoots  up  mightily  even  into  eternal  life: 
Qui  se  hutniliat,  exalidbitur 


MEEKNFSS. 


EEKXESS,  like  humility,  is  one  of  Jesus 
Christ's  characteristic  virtues.  It  is,  con- 
sequently, one  of  the  fundamental  virtues  of 
evangelical  perfection.  Sanctity-  that  is  not 
meek  is  not  true.  Our  Lord  set  down  meek- 
ness and  humility  as  the  dominant  \nrtues  of 
His    Heart. 

I.  —  Upon  what  rests,  then,  its  importance, 
and  what  is  it  that  merits  for  it  this  high 
rank  among  the  virtues?  It  is  because  it  is 
the  fruit  of  the  supernatural  love  of  God,  it 
is  man's  palm  of  victory  over  his  pride,  it 
is  the  renovation  and  the  transformation  of 
the  whole  natural  man.  The  old  Adam  is 
wrathful  by  nature,  and  the  more  so  in  pro- 
portion to  his  pride.  Every  proud  man  is 
violent,  severe,  and  choleric.  Impatience  is 
nourished  by  pride,  it  is  its  voice  and  gesture. 
Wrath  rests  on  the  love  that  man  entertains 
for  himself,  for  his  own  ease,  his  own  nat 
ural  happiness.  It  is  man's  resistance  to 
whatever  tends  to  snatch  from  him  what  he 
loves.    It  is  the  cry  of  self-love  and  egoism. 


MEEKNESS.  137 


Now,  these  are  things  that  plunge  their  roots 
into  the  depths  of  man's  being.  They  are 
his  very  nature.  To  render  a  man  meek,  is 
to  reform  him  thoroughly  and  supernaturalize 
his   whole  .nature. 

All  are  subject  to  anger.  The  impious  man 
knows  no  limits  to  its  transports,  and  he 
attacks  God  Himself  when  he  is  tired  of 
wreaking   it   on  his  fellow-men. 

And  those  pious  natures,  apparently  so  sweet 
and  calm, — if  you  inflame  them,  will  be 
most  terrible  in  their  wrath.  They  cannot 
be  extinguished  at .  once,  and  the  hot  ashes 
will  long  cover  coals  ready  to  ignite.  The 
anger  of  the  phlegmatic  is  the  most  difficult 
to  appease,  nor  does  it  take  much  to  excite  it ! 

Meekness  is  not,  then,  a  natural  virtue, 
and  one  attains  it  not  by  his  own  strength, 
nor  by  merely  saying.  "  I  want  to  be  meek.  " 

It  is  a  virtue  proper  to  Jesus  Christ,  en- 
tirely supernatural.  For  us  to  practise  it,  Hib 
grace,  a  powerful  grace,  is  necessary.  It  is 
the  question  of  .  simply  vanquishing  one's 
self-love  entirely,  and  that  is  no  easy  thing 
But  when  we  reach  that  degree,  we  are  pleas- 

The  Divine  Eucharist.  lo 


138  MEEKNESS. 


ing  to  Jesus  Christ,  who  holds  intercourse 
only  with  the  meek.  We  possess  the  kingdom 
of  heaven,  we  gain  souls  to  God,  and  we 
deserve  to  reign  with  the  Lamb, 

II  — We  must  be  meek  before  God.  God 
is  at  times  severe.  He  hides  His  goodness 
under  an  irritated  exterior.  He  appears  to 
hold  back  His  help,  to  stop  the  channels 
of  grace. 

He  allows  nothing  that  we  undertake  to 
succeed,  even  those  things  that  are  for  His 
glory.  We  are  contradicted,  calumniated  both 
by  the  good  and  the  wicked,  by  enemies  and 
friends.  We  are  abandoned  like  holy  Job 
on  his   dung-hill. 

Then  we  are  discouraged,  and  un  disgust 
we  give  up  everything.  Sadness  lords  it  over 
us  with  impatience.  We  feel  secret  irritation 
boiling  up  in  our  soul.  It  is  then  that  one 
must  be  meek  before  God,  for  all  that  comes 
from  Him.  Meekness  will  make  us  say  to 
Him:  "My  God,  I  know  Thou  art  as  good 
as  Thou  art  just.  I  accept  everything  from 
Thy  hand,  I  adore  Thee  in  this  mysterious 
way  and  in  all  Thy  good  pleasure  concerning 


MEEKNESS.  139 


me,    for    I    know   that    all    comes    from   Thy 
paternal  Heart.  " 

We  suffer,  but  we  are  submissive  and  we 
serve  God  as  on  the  days  He  turns  to  us 
the  radiant  simshine  of  His  face.  God  is 
conquered  by  this  meekness  of  the  submissive 
soul.  He  yields,  for  the  experience  He 
desired  to  make  is  over.  He  wanted  to  see 
whether  we  love  Him  more  than  His  favors. 

We  must  reach  this  degree  of  meekness 
toward  God.  Without  it,  we  shall  never  ac- 
cept His  will,  we  should  struggle  against  God 
Himself.  From  that  to  murmuring,  to  blas- 
phemy, and  to  despair,  the  descent  is  rapid. 

Job  is  our  modeK  The  Holy  Spirit  praises 
him  for  his  meekness.  He  triumphed  over  God 
by  supporting  His  visitation  with  patience. 
And  yet   Job   had    never   seen   Jesus   Christ  f 

Oh,  how  meek  Jesus  Christ  was  toward 
His  Father!  His  Father  had  imposed  on  Him 
all  His  sufferings,  and  He  had  made  Him 
rigorously  undergo  all  that  Jesus  Christ  had 
accepted  from  eternity.  He  let  Him  off  from 
nothing.  And  Jesus  Himself  said:  "All  jus- 
tice   must    be    fulfilled.  "     Nevertheless,     the 


140  MEEKNESS. 


chalice  was  bitter!  Jesus  could  not  help  beg- 
ging His  Father  to  spare  Him,  but  He  added: 
''Father,  let  Thy  will  he  done!  "  And  on  the 
Cross,  what  a  martyrdom  for  Him  was  the 
abandonment  of  His  Father!  And  how  heart- 
rending was  that  cry  of  the  Saviour:  "  Father^ 
Father,  why  hast  Thou  abandoned  Me!''  But 
•He  was  not  irritated.  He  is  -the  Lamb  that 
they  immolate  and  that  allows  Itself  to  be 
sacrificed,  and  He  -ends  His  life  with  the 
words:  Consummatum  est! 

God  will  make  you  taste  these  trials.  Love 
needs  to  pass  through  them.  Oh,  how  much 
need  you  have  of  meekness  toward  God! 
Meekly  humble  yourself.  Have  confidence  in 
His  mercy,  in  His  goodness,  which  knows  not 
how  to  let  you  perish  forever.  Look  not 
at  your  sins,  nor  seek  the  key  to  your  suffer- 
ings. You  would  only  find  trouble  and  fright. 
No,  cast  yourself  on  God's  mercy,  and  say  to 
Him:  "As  Thou  wilt,  0  my  God!  But  Thou 
shalt  lose  nothing,  for  1  ivill  serve  Thee  in 
spite  of  trial !  " 

III.  —  You  must  be  meek  toward  the  neigh- 
bor.   The   principle   of   meekness   toward   the 


MEEKNESS.  141 

neighbor  lies  in  charity.  You  will  be  meek 
toward  him,  if  you  see  in  him  the  gifts  of 
God,  if  you  love  God  in  him.  To  love  men 
for  themselves  is  time  and  trouble  lost.  Men 
are  sacks  full  of  holes.  He  who  puts  his 
treasures  in  them,  is  sure  to  lose  them. 

If  you  behold  God  in  the  neigbor,  you  will 
put  up  with  his  defects,  you  will  reprove 
him  without  sharpness,  you  will  treat  him  as 
you  would  have  treated  Jesus  Christ  gping 
to  Calvary  laden  with  His  Cross;  you  will 
pity  his  misery,  and  it  will  not  irritate  you; 
you  will  patiently  and  kindly  render  him 
service,  and  for  all  this  you  must  love  God  in 
him.  Nothing  is  more  necessary  than  this 
meekn''ess  toward  the  neighbor,  especially  in 
Community  life.  Peace,  fraternal  union,  de 
pend  upon  this  meekness,  for  the  neighbor  L«i 
exacting.  We  must  gently  put  up  with  him, 
remembering  that,  "  tit  for  tat,  "  we  shall  not 
fail  to  exercise  him  in  our  turn.  Meekness 
shuns  contentions  and  quarrels.  Our  Lord 
recommended  it  to  His  disciples  at  the  last 
repast  He  took  with  them  before  leaving 
them  the  Supper  of   the  Eucharist. 


142  MEEKNESS. 

IV.  —  We  must,  too,  be  meek  toward  self. 
This  may  appear,  perhaps,  contrary  to  this 
word  of  the  Saviour:  ''He  who  loves  his  life 
shall  lose  it.  "  But  it  is  not  so.  If  there  is 
question  of  shunning  sin,  of  flying  the  oc- 
casion, of  combating  a  habit,  of  punishing 
a  fault,  oh,  there  is  no  question  of  meekness^ 
then!  Force  and  energy  must  come  in 
there. 

But  against  that  weakness  which  is  in  us 
the  basis  of  every  temptation,  why  become 
irritated?  That  is  our  corrupt  nature.  Unless 
it  impels  us  to  some  sinful  act,  why  should 
we  torment  ourselves  about  it?  Let  us  not 
uselessly  fatigue  ^r  faculties  already  so  weak. 

Against  one's  innate  misery,  against  that 
weakness  it  entails,  which  mounts  not  upward, 
which  incessantly  falls  back  on  self,  neither 
struggle  nor  violence  must  be  employed,  but 
the  humility  and  the  patience  of  meekness. 
One  must  accept  his  state  just  as  it  is,  and 
take  it  to  God  in  the  same  way.  You  are 
weak  in  mind,  and  still  more  in  heart?  Offer 
that  to  God.  Otherwise,  what  will  you  do? 
We  cannot  kill  ourselves  to  change  ourselves. 


MEEKNESS.  143 


In  vain,  will  you  be  angry  against  yourself 
and  vex  yourself  for  not  being  perfect. 

Do  you  want  to  appear  so  in  your  own 
eyes,  and  make  perfection  increase  in  you 
in  spite  of  everything?  You .  will  be  like 
those  infatuated  ignoramuses,  or  those  poor 
proud  men  who  want  to  pass  for  savants 
and    millionaires  —  nothing    more    odious ! 

A  poor  person  comes  to  you.  You  give  him 
an  alms,  because  of  his  need,  without  in- 
quiring into  the  cause,  more  or  less  legitimate, 
of  his  poverty.  To  what  purpose  would  you 
inquire  and  discuss?  He  is  poor,  you  receive 
him  as  such,  and  give  him  charity. 

Treat  yourself  in  the  same  way.  Your  spirit- 
ual weakness  and  indigence  are  the  con- 
dition of  humility  for  you.  Accept  your 
impotence  with  meekness.  That  will  engender 
a  certain  peace,  which  will  sufficiently  unite 
you  with   God. 

The  perfection  of  meekness  would  be  even 
to  thank  the  good,  God,  for  your  misery 
glorifies  His  ineffable  greatness;  to  be  sen- 
sible of  the  least  graces,  and  to  bless  Hini 
for    them   as    for   immense   favors   which    He 


144  MEEKNESS. 


grants  you  who  arc  altogether  unworthy  of 
them. 

Meekness  is  necessary  in  the  service  of 
God,  in  all  interior  operations,  in  all  spiritual 
communication  with  God,  above  all  in  prayer 
and  direct  relations  with  Him.  You  are,  for 
example,  going  to  make  your. meditation,  and 
you  have  neither  thoughts,  nor  affections, 
nor  the  means  to  produce  them.  Then  say: 
"  My  God,  I  am  nothing,  but  I  will  remain 
at  Thy  feet  all  the  same.  They  do  not  put  a 
child  out  of  his  father's  house,  because  he 
is  an  imbecile  1  The  dog  has  a  right  to  lie 
full  length  at  the  door  and  to  pick  up  the 
scraps  that  fall  to  the  ground.  "  This  is  a 
suffering,  but  it  must  be  accepted,  for  it 
pleases  God.  We  do  not  want  it,  but  of 
ourselves  we  know  not  how  to  do  better. 

Irritation  would  be  the  vexation  of  pride, 
the  annoyance  of  self-love,  which  dreams  of 
great  things  and  thinks  itself  capable  of  the 
most  difficult. 

The  good  God  keeps  us  in  our  place  and 
shows  us  our  nothingness.  We  must  regard  it 
meekly  and  offer  it  to  Him  with  thanksgiving, 


MEEKNESS.  145 


for  He  will  not  disdain  to  look  upon  that 
nothingness,  to  send  upon  it  a  genial  ray  of 
light  to  make  it  produce,  at  least  some  little 
flower,  at  least  some  ears  of  wheat,  which 
the  angels  may  gather  and  put  into  the  gran- 
aries of  heaven;  for  God  regards  the  poor 
man  on  his  dung-hill,  and  raises  up  the  meek 
whose   heart   is   contrite. 

The  Prophet  said,  and  every  morning  the 
priest  .  repeats :  "  Why  art  thou  sad,  0  my 
soul,  and  why  dost  thou  trouble  me'?  Spera 
in  Deo  —  Hope  in  God !  "  Here  is  the  answer, 
here  is  the  remedy:  meekness,  hope,  and 
confidence  in  the  mercy  of  God,  who  disdains 
none  of  the  creatures  of  His  hand,  for  He 
has  created  them  all  in  His  love,  and  for 
His  designs  of  love. 


.♦^. 


*&1&*ii&2&2i&2&*;&J&J!&!&<^*i&2&!&*&^^«3g^^ 


The  RULE, 


SANGTIFIGATION   of  the 


RELIGIOUS. 


Kr 


^^^5^^f^^^W^'^W^*^'^^W^W^^ 


I.  —  What  law  will  make  you  holy?  The 
Rule,  your  religious  Rule,  the  Rule  of  the 
Society  to  which  you  belong.  Your  holiness 
consists  in  its  practice.  It  is  for  you  the 
will  of  God.  It  tells  you  what  is  His  design 
over  you,  how  He  desires  to  conduct  you. 
what  graces  He  will  give  you.  The  religious 
can  sanctify  himself  only  by  his  Rule.  Here 
individual  piety  and  observances  count  for 
nothing.  Everything  is  given  to  the  body 
as  a  whole,  and  the  members  have  to  receive 
their  life  from  their  union  with  that  body. 
In  religion  we  are  saved  only  as  a  whole, 
that  is,  inasmuch  as  we  are  united  to  the 
body.  Now,  the  Rule  is  the  soul  which  makes 
the  unity  of  a  religious  body.  God  will  not 
recognize  your  personal  holiness.  What  He 
looks  for  in  you  is  the  perfect  religious  pf 
such  or  such  an  Institute.  You  must  be 
blended  with  youi   Institute  that  you  may  be 


SANCTIFICATION    OF    THE    RELIGIOUS.    147 

a  living  incarnation  of  it.  It  is  not  the  holy 
man,  it  is  the  holy  religious,  who  will  be 
crowned   in  you. 

Do  you  understand  from  this  how  important 
it  is  that  you  should  esteem  your  Rule;  that 
you  should  value  its  practice  above  all  at- 
tractions, however  good  they  may  otherwise 
be ;  that  you  should  imbibe  its  spirit  .and  judge 
of  everything  from  its  point  of  view;  that  it 
ought  to  be  your  guide,  your  supreme  cri- 
terion ? 

Esteem  it,  love  it,  practise  it.  You  will  re- 
ceive three  great  graces  from  it  against  three 
very   dangerous   temptations. 

1.    The  Rule  guards  against  inconstancy. 

In  the  world,  inconstancy  is  the  great  enemy 
of  piety.  Were  you  always  at  the  same 
level?  On  the  contrary,  did  not  your  piety 
follow  a  perpetual  see-saw  movement,  some- 
times high,  sometimes  low?  The  Rule  holds 
you  fast,  and  prevents  your  inclining  to  the 
right  or  to  the  left.  It  hinders  you  from 
shirking.  It  seizes  the  religious,  urges  him 
on  by  a  constant  movement,  and  cries  to 
hini  by   the  voice  of  the  regulations,   of   the 


148  THE    RULE,    SANCTIFICATION 

daily  exercises,  of  the  bell:  "Move  on!  Go 
on!"  And  then,  all  doing  the  same  thing, 
one  multiplies  himself  a  hundredfold  by  the 
strength  of  his  brethren.  He  is  drawn  onward 
by  those  that  are  advancing,  and  it  is  difficult 
to  lag  behind.  The  love  of  God,  and  also 
a  certain  self-love,  obliges  one  to  follow. 
This  is  a  great  help  against  personal  weakness 
and   natural   inconstancy. 

2.  The  Rule  protects  against  tepidity  and 
negligence.  When  there  is  question  of  work- 
mg  on  one's  self,  a  man  experiences  diffi- 
culty, he  soon  finds  that  he  always  does 
enough.  But  he  will  greatly  devote  himself 
for  others,  will  sacrifice  himself  for  their 
advancement,  though  he  rcTa-y  be  1^  when 
there  is  question  of  self.  In  the  same  meas- 
ure as  he  rushes  forth  to  serve  the  neighbor, 
does  he  experience  annoyance  at  entering 
into  self  to  sacrifice  self.  He  thinks  that 
devotedness  to  others  suffices,  and  he  makes 
it  his  life-work,  as  if  it  supplied  for  every- 
thing else.  This  is  a  great  snare.  He  will  lose 
himself    under    pretext    of    saving    others. 

Now,  the  Rule  preserves  us  from  this  peril. 


OF     THE     RELIGIOUS,  149 

It  lays  down  for  you  the  exercises  of  personal 
holiness.  It  imposes  on  you  some  hours  dur- 
ing which  you  have  to  think  of  yourself, 
work  only  for  God  in  yourself.  Be  faithful 
to  them.  These  exercises  are  the  nourish- 
ment of  your  soul.  Your  spiritual  life  is 
supported  only  by  them,  and  nothing  will 
replace  them.  They  have  no  equivalent,  re- 
member that!  I  except  only  the  case  of 
evident,  necessity,  which  is  very  rare.  In  what 
illusion  some  are  on  this  point!  They  want 
to  labor,  ever  to  struggle.  Ah!  struggling 
does  not  nourish,  it  destroys!  All  that  you 
do  for  others  does  not  equal  in  value  what 
the  Rule  orders  you  to  do  for  yourself,  and 
which  you  have  neglected.  The  best  reasons 
in  this  case  are  only  pretexts  that  veil  self- 
love  or  tepidity;  for,  do  not  forget,  there  is 
more  virtue  in  combating  against  self  than 
in  combating  against  all  the  vices  of  the 
world,  and  there  is  more  strength  and  true 
devotedness  necessary  to  labor  at  one's  own 
perfection  than  to  give  one's  self  up  to  that  of 
others/  We  must  go  to  God  before  going  to 
men. 


150  THE    RULE,    SANCTIFICATION 

The  pious  exercises  of  the  Rule  stand,  then, 
before  all  else,  absolutely  before  all  else  I 
No  exercises  of  personal  piety  then,  if  they 
are  against  your  Rule,  or  if  they  cause  you 
to  neglect  what  it  imposes  on  you.  In  the 
latter,  you  share  the  abundant  grace  of  the 
whole  body;  in  the  former,  you  have  only  a 
little  drop  of  individual  grace. 

In  a  word,  to  leave  the  common  for  the 
particular,    is    the   source    of   all   illusions. 

3.  The  Rule  fortifies  you,  also,  against  the 
danger  of  exaggeration,  the  foimdation  of 
illusion  in  the  spiritual  life.  One  is  young, 
the  heart  is  ardent,  the  imagination  easily 
inflamed.  He  reads  the  lives  of  the  saints, 
sees  there  some  extraordinary  actions,  and 
at  once  desires  to  imitate  them.  He  fmds 
in  some  book  an  account  of  a  very  secret, 
very  extraordinaiT  way  of  some  holy  per- 
sonage, and  he  wants  to  enter  upon  it,  for 
it  seems  that  sanctity  is  there.  He  forgets 
the  whole  of  their  ordinaiy  life,  bowed  under 
the  yoke  of  the  Rule,  in  the  practice  of 
daily  duties,  in  the  mortification*  of  the 
passions,    and    he    sees    only    some    of    their 


OF     THE     RELIGIOUS.  151 

brilliant  actions  generally  willed  by  God 
more  to  manifest  their  sanctity  than  to 
increase  it. 

Now,  I  say  to  you,  first  of  all:  Are  these 
saints  of  your  Order?  Had  they  the  same 
grace  and  the  same  Rule  as  you?  —  Th'en, 
imitate  them;  if  not,  let  them  go.  You  have 
not  their  grace,  and  if  God  wills  you  to  be 
a  violet,  why  presume  to  make  yourself  a 
cedar?  On  pronouncing  his  vows,  the  re- 
ligious gives  up  all  the  particular  rules  he 
had  followed  till  then.  His  vows  take  the 
place  of  whatever  obligations  he  may  have 
formerly  contracted.  If  you  belonged  to  a 
Third  Order,  if  you  had  some  particular 
vows,  you  commute  their  obligations  intoi  those 
of  your  religious  vows.  Regard  them  with 
affection,  if  you  wish;  but  let  alone  their 
practice. 

Hold  on  to  your  Rule.  It  is  sufficient  for 
everything.  Ask  private  penances,  if  you  so 
desire.  The  Superior's  authority  interprets  the 
Rule,  therefore  sanctifies  and  permits"  such 
penances.  But  he  ought  to  watch  that  noth- 
ing contrary  to-  the  spirit  of  the  Rule  is  in- 


152  THE     RULE,     SANCTIFICATION 

troduced.  In  this  case,  it  is  all  bad,  penances 
as  well  as  the  rest. 

Be  sober,  modest.  Have  the  spirit  of  pen- 
ance and  mortification.  Exercise  it  in  the 
ordinary  practices,  and  guard  against  the 
extraordinary. 

Lastly,  you  must  be  holy  in  the  way  that 
God  wills,  and  not  otherwise.  The  Rule 
points  out  to  you  the  will  of  God.  With  it, 
you  are  secure,  you  are  in  His  grace,  you 
possess  the  means  by  which  you  will  surel'y 
glorify  Him.  Everything  else  will  be  of  no 
use  to  Him  or  to  you,  but  indeed,  dan- 
gerous for  you.  They  are  giant  steps,  but 
out  of  the  way,  like  the  great  deeds  of  the 
Romans  and  their  high  moral  virtues,  of  which 
Saint  Augustine  has  said:  Magni  passus,  sed 
extra  viam! 

A  saint,  speaking  of  the  Rule  of  Saint 
Francis,  said:  "He  who  keeps  this  Ride  will 
surely  be  saved.  "  I  tell  you  the  same  of 
your  own;  and  without  it,  you  will  fruit- 
lessly kill  yourselves  m  trouble  and  labor, 
you  will   never  reach   the  goall 

Keep   your   Rule   always   under   your   eyes; 


OF     THE     RELIGIOUS.  153 


If  it  does  not  speak  clearly,  have  recourse 
to  your  Superior.  He  is  the  living  Rule.  His 
interpretation    gives    authorization 

II.  —  Besides  for  your  own  sanctification 
and  the  advantages  I  have  enumerated,  you 
ought  to  practise  your  Rule  for  your  Con- 
gregation. 

1.  First  of  all,  you  ought  to  love  this 
Congregation  with  a  filial  love,  you  ou^ht 
to  cherish  gratitude  toward  it.  You  owe  to 
It  your  eternal  happiness  and  the  peace  that 
you  taste,  the  facility  of  sanctifying  yourself, 
the  happiness  you  enjoy  here  below  Give 
It  all  your  support,  and  this  you  cannot 
better  do  than  by  practising  its  Rule.  Recall 
that  one  never  repays  a  Society  as  it  deserves 
for  the  benefits  it  confers.  One  is  always 
a  debtor  to  one's  morher.  Your  daily  labors 
are  only  part  payment  of  your  immense  debt. 

Now,  for  all  that  it  gives  you,  it  asks 
only  that  you  observe  its  Rule.  Its  Rule  is 
the  essential  condition  of  its  life.  If  you  do 
not  observe  it,  you  kill  your  mother,  you 
destroy  your  adopted  family,  little  by  little 
ypu    introduce    division,    anarchy,    civil    war. 

The  Divine  Eucharist.  " 


154  THE    RULE,    SANCTIFICATION 

Whoever  fails  in  his  Rule  gives  rise  to  a 
revolution,  as  far  as  he  can.  He  makes  a 
breach  in  the  holy  citadel.  But,  above  all, 
may  God  preserve  us  from  ever  wishing  to 
touch  a  Rule  in  order  to  change  it,  to  modify 
it!  Should  you  be  recreant  ia  this  point, 
you  overthrow  it,  though  perhaps  not  for- 
mally. Keep,  then,  your  Rule  in  order  to  pre- 
serve the  life  of  the  Society  that  is  you? 
mother. 

2.  You  are  under  obligation  to  extend  this 
Society,  to  render  it  prosperous,  and  to  attract 
numerous  children  to  it.  If  you  do  not  prac- 
tise your  Rule  they  will  see  it,  and  they  will 
withdraw  from  it,  saying:  "It  is  only  dis- 
order!" And  thus,  will  they  dry  up  a  So- 
ciety in  its  roots.  It  has  life-force,  great 
grace,  it  ought  to  increase.  But  they  arrest 
it,  paralyze  it,  by  not  observing  its  Rule, 
for  its  Rule  is  its  furnace  of  life.  It  will 
expand  only  if  that  furnace  is  glowing,  well- 
fed,  well-guarded. 

On  beholding  you,  may.  they  say:  "Here 
are  true  religious.  They  faithfully  obser'/e 
their.  Rule.  "    You  are  the  fruits   of   the  So- 


OF     THE     RELIGIOUS.  155 

ciety.  As  a  tree  is  known  by  its  fruits,  jt 
IS  by  you  that  the  Society  will  be  judged. 
You  are  its  rays.  Shed  around  its  light,  and 
people  will  come  to  it. 

3.  Lastly,  you  ought  to  contribute  to  the 
end  of  your  Society,  and  act  in  such  a  way 
that  it  may  happily  attain  it..  Tliat  end  is 
to  glorify  God  by  works  of  charity  among  the 
laboring   classes 

If  you  have  not  your  Rule  at  heart,  \v\ua 
will  you  do  for  God? 

You  can  glorify  linn  only  m  the  spun  and 
according  lo  the  grace  of  your  foundation 
and,  imderbland  well.  God  gives  but  one 
grace   of   foundation. 

The  great  danger  of  nascent  Societies  is 
to  be  wanting  in  faith  in  the  first  grace. 
Some  may  enter  who  say  "  But  if  we  mod- 
ified this,  if  we  added  that,  we  have  done 
wrong  ni  acting  until  now  in  this  way.  '  — 
They  may  have  talent,  experience,  influence. 
i  tell  you  they  are  voluntary  or  involuntary 
traitors,  who  split  up  the  first  grace,  the  gjace 
of  the  foundation,  the  thought  of  the  Founder, 


156  THE    RULE,    SANCTIFICATION 

and  ihey  who  listen  to  iheni  will  dcblioy  the 
Society! 

There  arc  always  some  who  think  them- 
selves called  to  reform  iheir,  I'omider  and 
to  do  better  than  he.  But  God  blesses  only 
those  whom  He  has  chosen  for  Founder, 
and  never  those  that  wish  to  go  against 
him.  The  example  of  Brother  Elias  and 
Saint  Francis  is  well  known  Elias  wanted 
to  add,  diminish,  censure;  and  by.  the  order 
of  God,  the  saint  always  answered :  "  Without 
comment,  widiout  comment,  without  com- 
ment!"- Elias  separated  from  the  sauit.  He 
went  into  Germany,  where  he  died  miserably 
hi  the  party  of  the  schismatic  Emperor  while 
sustaining  an  antipope. 

No,  God  never  blesses  outside  of  the  first 
grace.  They  may  develop  it,  they  may  draw 
from  it  all  that  it  contains  at  the  time  and 
in  the  measure  that  circumstances  demand; 
but  it  is  never  permitted  to  change  nor  in- 
troduce anything  contrary  to  it.  God  will 
fructify  only  the  first  seed,  and  He  will  never 
give  another. 

And    if    any   have    departed   from   it,    they. 


OF  THR  RFXIGIOUS.  157 

must  return  to  it  purely  and  simply.  Prima 
opera  fac,  take  up  again  your  first  works, 
return  to  the  purity  of  your  first  grace.  If 
noc,  I  will  5;cattei-  you:  Sin  autem  venio  tibt 
ft  moveho  candelabrum  iaum  de  loco  suo  (Apoc. 
II,  5).  Never  allow  anything  new  or  strange 
to  be  introduced  into  your  R,ule.  Like  that 
saintly  Founder  reply  "  Let  them  be  as  they 
are,  or  let  them  disappear  altogether!"  This 
danger  is   great.    Guard   carefully  against   it. 

Lastly,  observe  youi-  Rule,  keep  it  religious- 
ly through  respect  for  the  good  God.  Your 
Rule  comes  from  Him.  Do  you  think  any 
man  would  be  capable  of  composing  a  Rule? 
No!  Neither  virtue  nor  holiness  is  sufficient 
for  that.  The  choice,  the  special  call  from 
God  is  necessary  It  is  He  who  mspires  it, 
and  the  Founder  transmits  it  to  you,  tracing 
it  in  his  sufferings  and  tears.  What  man 
could  infuse  light  and  holiness  into  a  line 
written  by  his  own  hand.?  The  Rule  bears 
with  it  grace.  It  sanctifies.  Now,  God  alone 
can  give  the  grace  and  the  power  to  sanctify. 

The  Rule  is  for  you  what  the  Gospel  is  for 
the  Church,   the  Book  of  life,  the  Book   of 


158  THE  RULE,   SANCTIFICATION. 

the  word  of  God,  filled  with  His  truth,  His 
light,  His  grace  and  His  life.  And  you  would 
dare  change  a  syllable  of  that  Gospel,  or 
throw  out  a  word?  No,  let  all  its  words  be 
sacred  to  you! 

Hearken  to  the  threats  of  Saint  John  written 
at  the  close  of  his  Apocalypse,  You  may 
apply  them  to  the  book  of  your  holy  Rules : 

"  I  testify  to  every  one  that  heareth  the 
words  of  the  prophecy  of  this  book:  If  any 
man  shall  add  to  these  things,  God  shall 
add  unto  him  the  plagues  written  in  this  book. 
And  if  any  man  shall  take  away  from  the 
book  of  this  prophecy,  God  shall  take  away 
his  part  out  of  the  book  of  life,  and  out  of 
th*^  holy  city  I  " 


SERMON  on  the  PROFESSION 


of  the  VOWS. 


Elegi  abfectics  esse  in  domn  Dei  niarns  qiiam 
hahitarc  in  tabernacuUs  v^ccatorum. 

I  One  day,  in  His  kindness,  the  good  God 
knocked  at  the  door  of  your  heart.  He  said 
lovingly  to  your  soul  as  to  the  spouse  in  the 
Canticles .  '  Open  to  Me,  My  sister,  My  love. 
open  to  Mel"  You  recognized  the  voice  of 
your  Well-Beloved,  you  opened  to  Him,  and 
you  begged  Him  to  enter  and  be  Master  in 
your  house,  to  rule  over  you  and  all  your 
possessions. 

Our  Lord  promised  you  in  return  His  goods, 
His  graces,  the  possession  of  Himself.  To- 
day there  is  question  of  signing  that  divine 
contract  by  the  profession  of  your  vows. 

What  is  passing  here  below,  is  reproduced 
at  the  same  time  in  heaven,  or  rather  we 
are  only  registering  the  promises  you  are 
making  to  God  Himself,  and  which  He  is 
accepting  in  heaven.  It  is  the  Heavenly 
Father  who  accepts  you  on  the  part  of  His 


160       THE  PROFESSION  OF  THE   VOWS. 

Son,  who  receives  your  sacrifices  and  your 
person,  promising  you  in  return  the  Person 
of  Jesus  Christ,  His  Son,  and  His  graces. 

The  notary  of  this  contract  is  the  Sovereign 
Pontiff.  The  Superior  here  represents  him 
and  receives  your  vows  in  his  name. 

You  are  going,  then,  to  pledge  youi-  word. 
Think  seriously  on  it.  You  are  still  free  to 
withdraw.  When  you  shall  have  signed  no 
one  will  annul  the  contract. 

I  know  that  the  Pope  can  remit  vows,,  but 
he  does  it  only  with  difficulty,  and  against 
his  will,  for  he  knows  that  a  vow  remitted  on 
earth  is  not  always  remitted  in  heaven.  It  is 
to  God  that  one  engages  himself.  He  alone 
beholds  the  secret  of  hearts.  He  knows 
whether  the. reasons  brought  forward  to  break 
the  chain  of  love  are  such,  in  reality,  as  rep 
resented.  The  Church  judges  by  the  exterioi 
only.  One  is  absolved  only  if  things  are 
such  as  are  shown  to  her.  Terrible  doubt, 
which  the  unfortunate  dispensed  one  canries 
everywhere  with  him! 

When  one  signs  the  contract  of  his  vows,  it 
is   with  his   own   blood,   and  that  first   drop 


THE    PROFESSION    OF    THE    VOWS.       161 

demands  and  exacts  the  effusion  of  all  that 
remains  in  his  veins.  One  cannot  deceive 
the  Lord.  He  exacts  the  rendition  of  the  vow 
made  to  Him,  and  it  is  better  not  to  vow 
than  not  to  fulfil  one's  vows. 

What,  then,  to  understand  it  well,  i?^  thi<; 
profession  you  are  about  to  make? 

II  —  It  is,  as  I  have  said,  a  deed  of  gift, 
a  divine  contract,  between  the  religious  and 
God  Himself.  A  contract  exacts  a  contri- 
bution from  two  parties.  What  do  you  give? 
You  give  yourself  entirely  and  imcondi 
tionally.  God  does  not  love  conditions.  They 
hide  reserves,  they  prevent  the  sincerity  of 
the  gift.    He  wants  all  or  nothing 

Give  your  whole  self,  the  world  and  its 
riches,  to  which,  if  you  do  not  already  pos- 
sess them,  you  might  at  least  aspire.  Re- 
nounce the  power  of  desiring  and  possessing. 
Renounce  the  desire  of  position,  of  future 
prospects.  In  a  word,  renounce  the  desire  of 
everything  you  might  love,  possess,  or  receive. 
Give  it  in  advance.  Give  even  the  faculty 
and  the  power  of  ever  being  the  object  of  any- 
thing whatever.    This  donation  comprises  all. 


162        THE- PROFESSION   OF  THE    VOWS. 

Give  your  person,  your  soul,  your  rriind. 
your  heart  forever  with  the  resolution  of 
never  taking;  them  back,' 

What  are  you  going  to  nsk  Our  Lord  to 
bring  on  His  side  to  the  common  contract? 
Ah!  I  think  you  will  not  be  satisfied  with 
the  hundred-fold  i^romised  to  Saint  Peter.  No, 
but  with  Saint  Thomas  of  Aquin,  you  will 
say :  "  What  I  ask  of  Thee,  O  my  Lord 
and  my  God,  i>  Thyself  and  nothing  else!" 
You  wiM  get  the  hundred-fold  into  the  bargain. 

For  how  long  a  time  do  you  sign  this 
contract?  The  Rule  prudently  requires  an 
engagement  of  some  years,  one  or  three.  Are 
you  going  to  say  to  yourselves:  "Well,  I  give 
myself  for  that  long,  and  in  a  year  I  shall 
see  whether  I  can  persevere?"  Well,  that 
beats  everything!  No,  the  heart  makes  per- 
petual vows.  If  you  do  not  want  to  belong 
entirely  to  God,  you  are  not  worthy  to  belong 
to  Him  for  n  year.  Go  no  further,  do  not 
go  on,  do  not  make  trial  of  the  good  God! 
If  you  doubt  Him,  His  help.  His  grace.  His 
love,  you  are  doing  Him  an  injiury. 

What  constitutes  the  greatness  and  the  no- 


THE    PROFESSION    OF    THE    VOWS.       163 

bility  of  love,  is  the  surrender  of  one's  liberty, 
present  and  future,  tlie  binding  of  one's  self 
forever,  admitting  not  even  the  possibility  of 
a    rupture 

You  Cdii  no  longer  say:  "  I  want  to  take 
back  the  gift  of  myself  in  one  year  I  did 
not  know  this!  I  did  not  expect  that!  "  God 
save  you  from  such  conduct '  Draw  a  circle 
and  shut-  yourself  up  in  it  with  God,  so  that 
you  may  never  again  be  able  to  leave  it. 
The  circle  is  the  symbol  of  the  infinite  In 
all  things,  then,  and  forever  with  God,  lo 
God  I    It  is  thus  that  Inve  speaks  and  acts. 

In  fine,  what  you  give  to  God  is  little,  and 
yet  it  is  more  to  God  than  to  yourselves 
Without  His  grace,  what  would  it  be^  And 
then,  loo]^  not  so  niuch  on  what  you  give 
God  will  see  it.  It  is  His  affair.  Do  yon 
look  only  at  the  favor  He  grants  you,  the 
infinite  mercy  of  which  you  are  not  worthy. 

If  holy  King  David  esteemed  himself  more 
blessed  and  more  honored  to  be  among  the 
lowest  servants  in  the  house  of  Go<l  than 
to  reign  in  his  own  palace  over  an  immense 
nation,   what   is   not   the  honor  done  >x)u   of 


164        THE   PROFESSION  OF  THE    VOWS. 

entering  into  the  chosen  and  privileged  fam- 
ily of  the  Church  of  Our  Lord!  Estimate 
this  grace  at  its  true  price,   if  you  cari. 

Give  all  you  have  acquired  of  merits  and 
virtue;  give  all  you  will  acquire  in  the  future 
by  your  actions,  your  labors,  the  sufferings 
of  your  whole  life.  If  you  have  nothing, 
borrow  the  virtues  and  merits  of  Our  Lord 
and  of  the  Blessed  Vifgin.  Beg  that  good. 
Rebecca  to  clothe  you  with  the  garment  of 
Jesus,  her  Well-Beloved  Son,  that  you  may 
be  pleasing  to  the  Heavenly  Father  and  re- 
ceive His  benediction.  Ask  her  to  clothe  yoii 
with  Jesus  Himself,  for  then  your  mise  ies. 
your  demerits,  and  impeifections  will  be  con- 
cealed under  cover  of  Jesus  Christ's  infinite 
holiness. 

Remember  this,  liowever,  that  once  a  reli- 
gious, you  will  not  be  free  from  temptations. 
The  demon  will  tempt  you  in  every  way  to 
take  back  what  you  have  given.  He  will 
scatter  gold  under  your  feet,  if  needs  be. 
Like  Saint  Antony,  do  not  even  look  at  him. 
Repulse  him  with  a  kick.  You  have  given 
yourselves.    That  is  something  which  admits 


THE    PROFESSION    OF    THE    VOWS.       165 

no   appeal.    Love  giveb   forevci    and   without 
repentance. 

Ill  Still  more,  the  religious  profession  is 
a  consecration. 

Things  profane  are  offered  and  consecrated 
to  God  by  the  rites  and  prayers  of  the  Church, 
and  thenceforth,  they  are  destined  exclu- 
sively for  her  worship.  Thus  it  was  that  they 
separated  imder  the  Lawi  the  victims  intended 
for  the  Lord.  They  were  removed  from 
common  use,  from  the  ownership  of  men,  to 
become  the  property  .of  the  Lord,  thmgs 
sanctified  and  consecrated. 

The  religious  profession  is  the  consecration 
of  the  victims  of  the  New  Law,  for  the  re- 
ligious becomes  by  his  vows  the  victim  and 
the  holocaust  of   the  Lord. 

It  separates  you,  then,  from  the  profane. 
It  raises  you  above  all  ordinary  use,  removes 
you  from  all  propriety  either  of  men  or  your 
selves.  You  have  no  longer  nanic  or  place, 
no  rank,  no  destiny  ui  this  world,  for  you 
become  the  goods,  the  property  of  Our  Lord, 
His    consecrated    creature. 

For  that  end,  the  leligious  pioiessipn  sane- 


166        THE   PROFESSlOiN    OF  THE    \  OWS. 

tifies  and  ennobles  you,  rendering  ^ou  worthy 
to  serve  so  great  a  Master.  The  domestic 
wears  the  livery  of  hi§  master;  the  Church 
gives  you  the  livery  of  Jesus  Christ.  She  re- 
ceives your  vows  and  makes  them  public, 
which  renders  you  amenable  to  her  authority 
alone,  and  having  made  of  you  her  own  men, 
she  deputes  you  to  the  service  of  her  Royal 
Spouse.  You  are  the  property  of  the  Churcli, 
sacred  persons;  and  you.  cannot  sully  your- 
selves by  human  contact  without  sacrilege. 
Hence,  honor  your  profession,  guard  the 
grace  that  is  bestowed  on  you.  The  servant 
is  bound  to  safeguard  the  honor  of  the 
master  whose  livery  he  wears.  The  servants 
of  kings  are  ennobled  by  them  and  become, 
as  it  were,  the  extension,  the  reflection  of 
the  royal  dignity.  Well,  religious  are  the 
nobility,  the  aristocracy  of  the  Church.  But 
as  the  nobility  of  a  kingdom  form  its  main 
strength,  and  is  always  in  the  first  rank,  to 
defend  the  person  of  the  prince  and  the  hunor 
of  their  country;  as  we  see  them  expose 
themselves  to  all  perils  with  admirable  cour- 
age, which  proves  that  they  count  their  own 


THE    PROFESSION    OF    THE   VOW<..       167 

life  as  nothing,  so  ought  the  reUgious  to  be 
in  tlie  first  rank  to  defend  the  sacred  Person 
of  Jesus  Christ  and  the  Church,  which  is 
His  kingdom.  They  should  be  always  ready 
for  orders'  always  at  hand,  that  she  may  send 
them  forth  to  all  quarters.  They  have  given 
up  all.  What  can  they  fear  to  lose?  And 
so,  of  her  religious,  the  Church  makes  mis- 
sionaries and  apostles.  She  always  sends 
them  on  before,  places  them  at  the  most  dif- 
ficult posts.  It  is  by  them  that  she  works 
wonders  among  the  nations,  that  she  gains 
and  saves  the  world.  And  that  is  not  as- 
tonishing! They  join  to  the  power  of  the 
priesthood  that  of  the  religious  consecration 
They  have  given  up  in  advance  all  that 
could  retard  them,  hinder  them  from  flying 
to  the  conquest  of  souls.  The  religious  priest 
IS  essentially  a  conqueror,  while  the  secular 
priest  is  more  of  a  pastor,  the  shepherd  of 
the  flock  —  too  often,  alas !  the  guardian  of 
tombs ! 

IV  The  profession  is,  in  fine,  a  compact 
of  companionship  with  Our.  Lord.  He  as- 
sociates you  to  Himself.    You  must  heiictilorlh 


IL-S       THE  PROFESSION   OF  THE    VOWS. 

have  with  Him  but  one  same  end,  one  same 
aim  in  all  your  labor?.  He  is  going  to  furnish 
you  with  the  grace  and  the  funds  of  tlie 
Society.  In  return,  He  asks  of  you  labor  and 
sacrifice.  You  must  be  indissolub'ly  bound 
to  Him,  heart  and  soul  attached  to  His  in- 
terests and   His  work. 

The  profession  is  an  oath,  an  oath  to  labor 
always  for  Our  Lord,  whatever  it  may  cost 
you.  It  is  a  solemn  and  irrevocable  oath.  It 
must  be  your  strength  that  you  may  aerc.r 
flinch.    It  binds  for  life  and  death. 

The  oath  is  the  chief  strength  of.  those 
Societies  that  are  everywhere  organized  for 
evil.  They  bind  themselves  to  one  another, 
give  up  their  liberty  and,  by  abominable 
pledges,  cut  off  anything  like  withdrawal  from 
them.  They  give  the  right  of  life  and  death, 
one  over  the  other. 

That  makes  one  tremble!  Men  are  snared, 
and  they  cannot  free  themselves  from  these 
diabolical  complications.  When  one  lives  not 
m  the  love  of  God,  he  lives  in  terror! 

Well,  do  you,  too,  take  an  oath.  Give  to 
Jesus  Christ  the  right  of  life  and  death  over 


THE    PROFESSION    OF    THE    VOWS.       169 

you.  You  say  that  you  love  Him?  You  must 
prove  it.  The  profession  is  an  engagement 
to  go  on  even  to  the  end,  to  the  immolation 
by  love.  And  if  martyrdom  lies  between  you 
and  the  service  of  Our  Lord,  ah,  well!  you 
must  pass  through  martyrdom  in  order  to  be 
faithful  to  your  oath. 

To-day,  give  your  life,  and  offer  your  ac- 
ceptance of  death,  should  it  please  God  to 
demand  it  of  you  for  His  love. 

To  die  on  the  battlefield  of  the  Church, 
IS  to  enshroud  one's  self  in  Our  Lord's  glory 
Happy  they  whom  He  chooses  to  testify  to 
Him  by  the  sacrifice  of  their  life  in  some 
perilous  mission!  Happy  they,  also,  who  con- 
sume themselves  for  Him  in  their  daily  duty! 
Our  Lord  receives  them  into  His  arms. 

Let  your  profession  be  that  of  a  martyr  of 
poverty,  chastity,  and  obedience.  Forever  re- 
member this  day.  You  life  will  witness  none 
more  beautiful.    It  is  the  day  of  your  love! 


The  Divine  Eucharist. 


^=^Hafe:Kafe=^H^H^=^=^;|^ 


RETREAT 


PREACHED  TO  THE  RELIGIOUS  OF  THE 
=  SOCIETY  OF  THE  - 


Most  Blessed  Sacrament. 


FOREWORD. 


B^J8|  HE  following  instructions  were  preached  to  the 
B^^  Religious  of  the  Most  Blessed  Sacrament  in  the 
chapel  of  the  Mother-House,  Paris,  1867. 

This  explains  Ven.  Pere  Eymard  's  constant  allu- 
sions to  the  Society  of  the  Blessed  Sacrament,  its  end, 
its  work^^,  and  its  Rule. 

Ven.  Eymard  spoke  to  his  sons  en  /am i//e,  with 
closed  doors,  as  it  were.  He  could  not  otherwise 
speak  freely  and  say  all,  through  fear  of  not  being 
understood.  The  familiai:ity  of  home-life  permits  one 
to  dwell  more  forcibly  on  certain  things,  to  return  to 
them,  to  repeat  them  in  a  manner  more  trenchant 
and  more  absolute,  in  order  to  engrave  tliem  more 
deeply  on  minds. 

He  repeats  several  times  that  he  is  pleading  a 
Retreat  of  conversion,  of  reformation  of  manners,  and 
not  one  of  repose  or  perfection  ;  consequently,  he  has 
always  in  hand  the  burning  lamp  of  duties,  obliga- 
tions, which  he  turns  about  attentively  on  the  con- 
science, discovering  its  hidden  folds,  unveiling  the 
secrets  that  self-love  voluntarily  forms  for  itself, 
Sl^owing  the  difference  between  what  one  really  is 
and  what  one  ought  to  be,  he  exhorts,  he  urges,  he 
presses  his  hearers  to  set  to  work  that  their  lite  may 
respond  to  their  vocation,  and  their  fidelity  of  corre- 
spondence in  some  degree  equal  the  magnificence  of 
their  grace. 


174  FOREWORD. 


The  ^^en.  Eymard  did  not  preach  the  Blessed 
Sacrament,  and  he  gave  his  reasons  for  it.  He  did 
not  aim,  as  he  usually  did  in  his  sermons,  at  preaching 
the  Eucharist,  the  mysteries  of  lis  life  and  the  marvels 
of  It5  love.  "Our  Lord,"  he  said,  *•  will  Him<;elf 
make  your  Eucharisiic  Retreat.  As  for  me.  I  want 
to  be  here  only  a  John  the  Baptist,  crying  -i  ''  Do 
penanre .''"  He  wanted  only  ''  to  prepare  for  ihe  life 
of  Our  Lord,  to  conduct  to  the  gate  of  sanctity,  "  and 
there  he  paused. 

There  is  time  for  all.  The  Christian  life  cannot 
follow  the  course  of  treatises  on  Christian  perfection, 
in  which  they  start  from  a  definition,  advancing  by 
principles,  divisions,  and  subdivisions,  up  to  the  end, 
without  ever  returning  to  the  beginning,  or  repeating 
what  has  already  been  said.  That  is  the  logical 
way. 

•  The  practical  way  is  different.  It  moves  one  some- 
limes  to  purify  one's  self,  sometimes  to  press  tor- 
ward  ;  sometimes  to  live  the  life  of  love,  sometimes 
that  of  fear  ;  now  to  keep  one  's  self  very  low  in 
humiliation,  and  then  again,  to  rouse  confidence 
as  much  as  possible,  for  fear  of  falling  into  discour- 
agement. After  some  years,  it  is  necessary  to  return 
to  a  virtue  that  we  think  we  have  acquired,  to 
renew  our  fervor  in  its  practice  at  the  beginning, 
because  the  Holy  Spirit  of  God  incessantly  varies  the 
state  of  souls,  and  breathes  where  He  will,  without 
their  knowing  whence  He  comes  nor  whither  He 
goes.     They  are  sure  of  but  one  thing,  and  that  is, 


FOREWORD.  175 


that  He  always  destroys  and  pursues  to  the  death 
all  support  founded  on  self  or  on  one's  virtues,  one's 
past  and  acquirements. 

It  is  good,  also,  to  make  from  time  to  time  a  Re- 
treat which  revives  the  a,  b^  c  of  conversion,  even  for 
persons  the  most  virtuous,  in  the  most  heavenly 
vocations,  and  the  most  retired  Communities.  That 
is  the  moment  to  lay  aside  the  ordinary  motives  of 
life,  even  the  best  and  those  to  which  one,  is  most 
habituated,  in  order  to  concentrate  one's  attention 
on  the  law  and  duty,  and  sorrowfully  to  confess  one  's 
omissions,  weaknesses,  miseries,  and  sins. 

We  have  already  perused  a  great  number  of  instruc- 
tions on  the  Eucharist,  the  Eucharislic  virtues,  and 
the  life  of  union  and  love  with  Our  Lord,  delivered 
by  the  venerated  Founder  of  the  Society  of  the 
Blessed  Sacrament.  We  have  given,  also,  several 
Eucharistic  Retreats  in  which  Jesus'  love  and  good- 
ness form  the  whole  teaching,  the  means,  and  the 
end.  Love  is,  indeed,  the  atmosphere  of  the  Eu- 
charist. There  Our  Lord,  effecting  the  consummation 
of  all  love,  He  being  the  Love  of  loves,  can  act  only 
according  to  the  nature  of  that  Mystery,  that  is,  by 
love.  The  essential  grace  of  the  Eucharist  is  to 
nourish  and  iYicrease  love,  to  strengthen  in  us  its 
habit,  and  to  multiply  its  attractions,  in  a  woid,  to 
make  love  live. 

In  this  Retreat,  the  Father  will  be  one  with  him- 
self, he  will ,  put  the  finishing-?5troke  to  the  law  of 
love. 


176  FOREWORD. 


He  still  shows  us,  in  effect,  Our  Lord 's  love,  but 
as  the  sovereign  motive,  the  truly  efficacious  means  of 
all  sacrifice,  conversion,  and  mortification  ;  love,  as 
the  sole  force  which  causes  the  cross  to  be  embraced 
with  joy  and  borne  with  perseverance. 

If  he  exhorts  to  self-purification,  it  is  because  love 
is,  above  all,  fastidious.  If  he  shows  the  gravity  of 
sin,  it  is  through  the  pain  that  it  gives  to  Jesus  Christ 
whose- love  it  wounds.  If  he  wants  iis  to  see  the 
combat  between  the  spirit,  the  heart,  and  the  senses, 
he  localizes  its  force  in  the  love  of  Jesus  Christ  Our 
Lord  alone. 

But  on  account  of  human  misery,  no  way  of  the 
spiritual  life,  however  good  it  may  be,  is  without 
danger.  Imprudence  and  presumption  impel  man's 
mind  to  quit  the  beaten  palh  and  take  imaginary 
short  cuts, 

The  way  of  love  does  not  escape  this  rock.  Its 
danger  lies  in  this,  that  they  take  the  word  for  the 
thing,  the  sentiment  for  the  reality,  forgetting  that 
love  is  sacrifice,  death  to  self  and  the  world,  the  life 
of  Jesus  Crucified  in  Jesus-Hostia.  Its  danger  lies, 
again,  in  forgetting  that  this  life  of  Jesus  is  exercised 
only  by  the  destruction  of  sin  and,  above  all,  of 
pride  ;  by  the  faithful  practice  of  all  one*s  duties,  by 
the  mortificaiion  of  all  concupiscence  of  the  flesh  and 
the  spirit  ;  in  a  word,  the  danger  is  found  in  the 
dilexif  mcy  and  in  the  neglect  of  the  tradidit  sevutip- 
sum  fro  me. 

The  Ven,  Father 's  aim  is  to  divert  from  this  danger, 


FOREWORD.  177 


and  to  offer  a  remedy  to  him  who  has  fallen  into  it. 
The  plan  of  the  twenty-one  instructions  of  this 
Retreat  may  be  reduced  to  these  two  terms : 

Believe  in  Jesus' love'  for  you  in  His  Passion,  in 
His  Eucharist,  in  the  vocation  and  the  graces  He  has 
given  you.    DiUxit ! 

Then  deliver  yourself  up  entirely  to  Him  by  death 
to  self,  in  order  to  prove  your  faith.      Tradidit ! 

We  shall  see,  also,  that  the  Ven.  Father  wished 
that  we  should  make  to  Our  Lord  the  gift  of  our  own 
personality,  which  gift  he  calls  the  characteristic  vir- 
tue of  the  Religious  of  the  Blesssed  Sacrament. 

We  shall  better  understand  in  what  that  consists 
when  we  shall  have  read  the  last  Retreat  of  this 
volume.  But  at  present,  resuming  all  the  spiritual 
doctrine  of  the  Ven.  Father,  we  think  we  shall  be 
safe  in  saying  that  for  him,  for  the  Religious  of  the 
Blessed  Sacrament,  and  for  all  souls  whom,  grace 
calls  to  sanctify  themselves  by  the  Eucharist,  the 
dominant  motive  of  sanctity,  the  soul  of  perfection, 
and  its  formal  matter,  is  the  love  of  Our  Lord,  Piis 
Eucharistic  love. 

The  principal  and  essential  means  is  the  gift  of  one 's 
own  personality,  and  the  practical  virtue  of  this  gift 
is  humility,  the  humility  of  love,  not  only  that  which 
abases  on  account  of  one's  nothingness  and  sins,  but 
that  which  renounces  living  for  one's  self,  one's  own 
principle  and  end  in  anything  whatever,  and  which 
lives  but  of  Jesus  Christ,  by  Him  and  for  Him  alonCj 
in  the  total  annihilation  of  self. 


END  of  the  RETREAT, 


SELF-PURIFICATION. 


HE  most  important,  the  .essential  aim  of 
this  Retreat,  is  to  examine  the  state  of 
our  conscience  to  purify  it,  to  study  the 
motives,  the  occasions,  the  frequency  of  our 
falls  in  order  to  apply  a  remedy. 

I.  —  Are  we  in  a  state  of  grace?  Is  that 
our.  habitual  state?  Are  we  alive?  All  con- 
sists in  that. 

We  must  seek  in  what  degree  of  life  or 
death  we  are;  whether  we  commit  and  in 
-what,  why,  how,  mortal  or  venial  sins,  and  of 
what  nature  are  our  most  frequent  imper- 
fections. 

It  might  be  that  we  are  in  a  state  of 
conscience  mortally  culpable.  It  is  possible. 
I  hope  it  is  not  so,  but  we  are  exposed  to 
falling  into  that  sad  state  as  long  as  we  are 
on  this  earth. 

We  shall,  always  have  the  triple  concu- 
piscence, which  obstinately  buffets  us,  in  order 
to  make  us  fall.    Even  to  our  last  sigh,  we 


SELF-PURIFICATION.  179 

shall  feel  tlie  warring  of  the  two  men  in  us. 
Never  will  the  carnal  man  accept  the  sway 
of  the  spiritual  man;  nnd  if  the  latter  does 
not  defend  himself  by  war,  he  will  of  ne- 
cessity be  subjugated  by  the  former.  In 
spite  of  us,  this  war  will  endure  as  long  as 
ourselves.  It  is  so  much  the  more  painful 
as  it  is  waged  in  us  and  by  us.  Wc  carry  it 
around  everywhere,  and  we  are  in  constant 
danger   of  succumbing. 

Oh!  I  well  understand  •  what  .Sa-int  Paul 
exclaimed:  "Better  death  than  such  a  life!  ' 

Have  we  not,  besides,  the  demon  who 
tempts  us,  who  pursues  us  without  relaxation, 
and  with  so  much  the  more  hatred  the  nea;*er 
we  are  to  God?  That  is  understood.  Rob- 
bers do  not  attack  beggars,  and  in  battle  it 
is  th5  generals  who  arc  aimed  at.  By  our 
vocation,  we  are  nearer  to  Jesus.  We  live 
with  Him  as  His  familiars.  Not  being 
able  to  lay  hands  on  our  Master,  the  devil 
turns  his  rage  against  us,  wishing  that  we 
should  at  least  serve  Him  badly,  if  he  cannot 
snatch   us  altogether  from   Him. 

Thence  it  comes  that,   in  the  Eucharistic 


180  SELF-PURIFICATION. 

vocation,  one  has  often  temptations  until  then 
unknown  to  him,  temptations  longer,  more 
terrible,  more  abominable,  even  before  the 
Most  Blessed  Sacrament ! 

And  so  yourselves  and  the  demon  acting 
against  you  —  behold  by  what  you  are  tempt- 
ed.   There  is  here  sufficient  to  make  you  fall. 

Does  not  your  imagination  pursue  you  with 
its  remembrances  ?  —  the  natural  man,  also, 
sold  to   iniquity? 

But  you  will  say,  "I  have  faith!"  That  is 
possible,  but  the  natural  man  has  not.  Your 
carnal  heart  does  not  love  Cod,  it  loves  only 
itself.  Think  you  that  your  ]:)ody  loves  mor- 
tification? It  is  an  animal  which  sees  both 
sides  .of  the  road  bordered  by  wliat  it  covets. 
There  it  continually  rushes.  In  spite  of  blows, 
it  always  returns.  The  body  is  like  unto 
swine,  which  delight  in  wallowing  in  filth,  Susi 
lota  in  volutabro  luti;  or  like  the  dog  that 
returns  to  his  vomit.  Oh,  how  trying  to  have 
a  beastly  body  with  an  angelic  soul  made  for 
God!  But  it  is  our  condition.  We  are  all 
children   of  sinful  Adam. 

The  world  is  another  occasion  of  sin.    True. 


SELF-PURIFICATION.  181 

we  have  quitted  it,  but  we  still  see  too 
much  of  it  even  while  not  seeing  it,  though 
not  the  scandalous  world;  but  whatever  it 
may  be,  the  world  has  always  its  dangers. 
If  the  angels  were  visible,  1  tell  you  they 
would  become  for  us  a  subject  of  temptation! 
It  is  sad!  This  comes  from  our  perverted 
nature,   which  corrupts   everything. 

Ah  I  we  dare  not  think,  —  it  would  be  too 
frightful,  ^ —  how  easy  is  sin  even  among 
creatures,  the  most  mnocent.  Yes,  the  angels 
did,  indeed,  sin  in  heaven  in  the  presence 
of  God.  and  Adam  in  the  terrestrial  Paradise! 

i  easily  understand  the  saints  who  fled 
into  the  desert,  and  those  that  6hut  them- 
selves up  in  a  Trappist  monastery  in  order 
to   escape   the   dangers   of   the   world. 

Our  vocation  does  not  call  us  to  that;  but 
during  pur  Retreat,  at  least,  let  us  shut  our- 
selves up  in  a  Trappist  monastery. 

But  all  is  not  accomplished  by  flight.  The 
tendency   to   evil   pursues   us    everywhere. 

Even  were  you  to  retire  to  a  Carthusian 
monastery,  you  would  carry  self  with  you, 
and   the   devil   would  follow;  you.    Shall  you 


182  SELF-PURIFICATION. 

not  always  have  your  body  and  your  imag- 
ination? Look  at  Saint  Jerome,  after  twenty 
years  passed  in  the  sacred  grotto  of  Beth- 
lehem, transported  again  in  imagination  to 
the  dances  of  Rome!  It  is  not  solitude  that 
makes  saints,  but  the  will.  The  devil  haunts 
hermitages,  as  well  as  great  cities. 

What  is  to  be  done,  then?  Fight!  Do  not 
say:  If  I  were  here,  or  there.  No!  Wher- 
ever you  are,  you  are  your  own  most  cruel 
enemy.  Besides,  peace  does  not  aonsist  in 
suffering  no  temptations,  but  in  not  offending 
God. 

Oh,  what  misery!  What  are  we,  then,  O  my 
God?  And  sometimes  we  seek  matter  of  hu- 
miliation, and  we  complain  of  not  finding  it. 
Humble  yourselves  in  your  corruption.  Noth- 
ing is  lower,  nothing  more  contemptible  than 
you,  not  even  the  most  repulsive  animals. 
They,  at  least,  do  not  degrade  themselves. 
You  seek  motives  for  humbling  yourselves, 
forsooth!  But  your  sins,  your  sinful  nature, 
— behold  sufficient  to  deserve  eternal  chas 
tisements.  You  ought  to  be  chased  from 
the  presence  of  God  and  from  the  assembly 


SELF-PURIFICATION.  183 

of  the  saints.  How.  is  that  ?  Can  that  be 
possible?  Ah,  yesl  Sin  is  leprosy.  Now,  the 
leprous  are  driven  oiit  from  the  society  of 
men. 

11.  —  But  how  far  am.  I  in  evil?  — This  is 
the  question  that  must  be  determined  during 
this  Retreat.  Am  I  in  a  state  of  grace,  free 
from  all  mortal  sin?  What  venial  sins  have 
I  committed?  Which  are  those  that  I  retain 
through  affection?  Are  not  my  confessions 
rendered  useless  by  want  of  contrition? 

But  I  have  only  venial  sins,  and  venial 
sin  does  not  kill.  That's  true,  slight  wounds 
do  not  kill.  But  wait  for  some  occasion, 
and  you  will  see  whether  it  will  not  cause 
your  death. 

Be  as  regular  to  your  exercises  as  you  will, 
come  like  the  others  to  Adoratioii  and  Oilice ; 
but  if  you  do  so  with  your  conscience  bur- 
dened, you  are  paralyzed,  you  profit  nothmg 
by  it. 

But  I  hope  I  am  not  so  far  gone.  I 
have  at  most  only  a  doubt.  —  Get  out  of 
that  doubt.  Clear  up  your  doubt.  It  is  not 
enough  to  hope,  you  must  be  sure.    You  will 


184  SELF-PURIFICATIOiN. 

come  to  the  truth  by  seriously  examining 
yourself  in  the  light  of  grace,  and  afterward 
by  confession  and  the  decision  of  your  con- 
fessor. 

Some  do  not  take  enough  care  to  become 
familiar  with  their- faults.  One  must  always 
be  a  new-comer  before  God,  habituated  to 
nothing,  I  know  that  we  very  easily  become 
accustomed  to  living  in  the  midst  of  sanctity, 
and  that  we  may  readily  grow  useless  in  the 
most  perfect  state. 

Oh,  how-  necessary  it  is  to  watch  not  to 
become  a  whited  sepulchre!  It  is  very  much 
easier,  although  there  may  be  no  mterior 
devotion,,  to  appear  perfect  exteriorly,  than, 
although  holy  in  the  interior,  to  show  it  in 
the  exterior.  They  who  are  taken  up  with 
their  interior  do  not  pay  so  great  attention 
to  some  external  miseries  that  still  cling  to 
them.  God,  also,  allows  them  to  remam  in 
order  to  humble  them;  while  the  others, 
neglecting  all  care  of  their  interior,  occupy 
themselves  only  in  painting  and  disguising 
themselves. 

Am   I   one  of  these?  —  Perhaps!    Examine 


SELF-PURIFICATION.:  185 

well  whether  you  are  making  any  progress  in 
getting  rid  of  your  sins.  Are  you  increasing 
in  purity?  That  is  well.  Are  you  always  at 
the  same  point?  Take  care!  Those  stagnant 
waters  breed  corruption  and  engender  death. 
But,  perhaps,  you  are  less  pure.  You  sin 
more  easily?  Oh,  unhappy  man!  Your  con- 
science is  sleeping  the  sleep  of   death! 

Take  care!  One  reaches  that  point  in- 
sensibly. There  are  many  such  in  the  service 
of  God  with  no  will  to  correct  their  faults  and 
to  advance,  and  who  are  benumbed  in  con- 
science. The  good  Christian  exposed  in  the 
midst  of  the  world  watches  over  the  least 
things,  always'  struggling  on  account  of  the 
dangers  that  sun  ond  him.  The  former,  on 
the  contrary,  allow  themselves  to  be  carried 
along  by  their  Rule  of,  life,  which  provides 
for  everything,  and  by  their  state,  which 
is  in  itself  most  perfect,  like  a  voyager  who 
allows  himself  to  be  put  aboard  a  ship  with- 
out inquiring  its  destination.  But  some  ships 
go  to  Cayenne,  and  others  to  the  Fortunate 
Isles.    Whither  are  you  going? 

We  must,   then,   watch.    We  must  have  an 

The  Divine  Kuchaiisi.  •  13 


186  SELF-PURIFICATION. 

eye  to  our  sins,  their  principle,  their  occasion. 
One  does  not  love  God  unless  he  purifies 
himself  from  his  sins,  at  least  in  will;  and 
he  is  not  a  religious  so  long  as  he  is  not  a 
man  pure  and  delicate  concerning  all  that 
relates   to  his .  conscience. 

Do  you  know  what  this  delicacy  is?  It  is 
the  heart  of  love  and,  if  you  are  not  refined 
and  tender  toward  the  good  God,  you  have 
no  heart.  You  are  religious  quacks,  if  the 
mere  shadow  of  the  trouble  you  are  about 
to  undergo  for  God  affrights  you! 

Delicacy,  refinement,  consists  in  permitting 
one's  self  nothing  that  might  offend  God. 
It  consists  in  abstaining,  from  even  the  ap- 
pearance of  evil.  It  is  the  Jionor  due  to  our 
position  and  life.  One  preserves  it  through 
respect  for  God  and  for  the  honor  of  His 
service.  No  longer  to  be  alive  to  it,  is  to 
have  lost  the  sentiment  of  honor.  It  is  the 
callousness,  besottedness  of  the  drunkard  who 
reels  along  the  streets  oblivious  of  his  shame- 
ful condition.  What  can  make  him  blush? 
Does  he  still. think  himself  a  man? 

Are  you  come  to  that  ?    Have  you  no  longer 


SELF-PURIFICATION.  187 

any  sentiment  of  your  sins?  and,  if  you  do' 
see  them,  do  you  correct  them?  No,  I  am 
constantly  falling  back  into  the  same  faults, 
without  paying  any  great  attention  to  it. 
Then,  are  you  already  dead !  You  are  without 
feeling!  There  is  no  state  more  frightful  than 
that  in  which  one  is  insensible  to  his  sins. 

I  know  that  you  cannot  escape  sin  en- 
tirely, but  the  evil  consists  in  not  seeing  our 
faults.  The  saints  saw  atoms,  and  we  are 
blind  to  rocks! 

But  what  you  say  on  this  subject  makes  one 
tremble.  If  I  dwelt  on  such  thoughts,  I 
should  lose  courage.  —  So  much  the  better, 
for  fear  is  the  beginning  of  wisdom.  How 
now,  you  would  not  know;  your  sins,  and 
you  would  do  nothing  to  correct  them?  But 
there  lies  the  evil.  You  are  mortally  sick, 
and  you  are  drinking  iniquity  like  water. 

Place  your  hand  upon  your  conscience. 
Sound  it,  and  find  out;  your  sins  mortal, 
venial,  or  against  the  Rule.  If  you  go  on 
falling  into  them,  you  are  like  the  sun  setting 
in  a  fog,  disappearing,  leaving  after  it  dark- 


188  SELF-PURIFICATION. 

ness,  cold,  and  death;  or  are  you  like  him 
mounting  to  your  full  meridian? 

Take  care!  You  are  on  the  way  to  lose 
your  vocation,  whether  you  be  novices  or 
professed.  Our  Lord  is  going  to  Vomit  you 
out  of  His  mouth.  What  is  to  be  done?  Give 
a  cordial  to  Our  Lord  at  once,  by  saying  to 
Him.  from  the  bottom  of  your  heart:  No, 
my  God!     I-  want  no  more  sin. 

How  severe  are  those  words!  —  They  are 
the  simple  truth.  I  know  very  well  that  you 
have  not  swallowed  sins  as  large  as  camels, 
but  I  know  also  that  a  hole  as  large  as  a 
pin's  head  suffices  to 'submerge  the  largest 
vessels. 

Do  not  speak  to  me  of  those  religious  who 
make  a  trade  of  their  holy  state.  I  prefer 
to  them  highway  sinners.  When  the  latter 
return  to  God,  they  can  be  made  in  four 
days  to  mount  to  four  degrees  of  virtue; 
the  others  languish  in  the  sunshine,  grow 
mouldy  before  a  great  fire,  until  Our  Lord 
drives  them  forth,  for  of  necessity  it  comes 
to    that. 

How  is  it  that  even  very  old  religious  turn 


SELF-PURIFICATION.  189 

their  back  on  the  Lord,  to  whom  they  shad 
pledged  themselves,  and  return  to  the  world 
as  apostates?  They  go  away  of  themselves 
without  any  one's  sending  them,  by  the  sim- 
ple consequence  of  their  own  negligence, 
•which  has  degenerated  into  an  inveterate 
habit  of  sin.  They  were  not  grave  sins,  but 
a  state  of  routine  and  affect:ion  to  venial  sin. 

Do  not  say:  I  am  an  adorer.  I"  am  in 
the  sublime  vocation  of /the  angels  and  the 
saints,  I  belong  to  Our  Lord's  family.  —  That 
is  very  true,  but  your  obligations  are  in 
proportion  to  the  sublimity  of  your  voca- 
tion. Have  you  weighed  that  well?  Alas! 
some  never  even  think  of  it!  Some  are  always 
in  their  glory,  exulting  in  the  honorable  rank 
to  which  God's  goodness  has  called  them 
near  His  Son!  But  thinlc  you,  then,  that 
even  that  grace  may  be  withdrawn,  if  you 
do  not  correspond  ta  it?  Does  God  owe  you 
anything  ? 

We  are  like  the  poor  Apostles  before  the 
coming  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  Their  thoughts 
were  constantly  taken  up  with  the  glory  of 
their    vocation.    They    spoke    only    of     their 


190  SELF-PURIFICATION. 

great  Master,  of  His  future  kingdom  of 
which  they  wanted  to  be  the  ministers  and 
councillors.  They  were  always  ready  to  de- 
spise others.  Alas!  we  have  seen  them  in 
the  day  of  their  trial! 

Remark  well,  their  sins  were  all  venial, 
but  see  to  what  they  led  them  —  they  all 
fled,  and  their  chief  denied  his  Master. 

Ah!  let  us  not  talk  so  much  of  our  great 
Master  of  our  sublime  vocation,  but  a  little 
more  of  what  we  owe  Him. 

This  Retreat  is  for  that.  All  the  year  round 
we  speak  of  Our  Lord  and  exalt  His  reign. 
But  in  this  Retreat,  there  is  question  only  oi 
ourselves  and  our  obligations.  We  must 
rouse  ourselves.  We  are  half -paralyzed.  Hot 
and  vigorous  treatment  is  necessary  for  us. 
Let  us  take  it  during  the  Retreat.  May  it 
consume-  all  there  is  in  us  sinful  and  im- 
perfect ! 

If  the  Retreat  purifies  you,  it  shall,  have 
accomplished  all  that  it  ought  to  do. 

HI.  —  By  purity,  by  increasing  and  guard- 
ing it,  you  will  practise  all  the  virtues,  and 
you    will    become    perfect    adorers.    If    your 


SELF-PURIFICATION.  191 

conscience  is  pure,  your  service  will  be  pure 
and  worthy  of  the  good  God.  You  wotild 
be  ashamed  to  come  to  adore  Our  Lord 
with  a  sullied  heart,  and  to  place  Him  on 
a  vile   throne. 

Do  people  appear  before  a  respectable 
person  in  soiled  and  tattered  garments? 

If  you  are  pure,  you  will  properly  fulfil 
the  mission  confided  to  you  by  the  Church 
and  the  Society  in  deputing  you  to  Adora- 
tion, for  you  go  to  it  in  the  name  of  the 
Church,  of  your  brethren,  and  of  sinners,  in 
order  to  intercede  for  them.  But  if  you  your- 
selves are  sinners,  would  you  insult  the  good 
God?  The  first  quality  of  a  mediator,  is  to 
be  agreeable  to  the  person  before  whom  he 
presents  himself  to  intercede.  And  you  would 
be  willing  to  show  the  Father  the  executioner 
of  His  Son?  How  would  you  be  able  to 
plead  successfully  for  others  when  you  your- 
selves  inspire  horror? 

We  do  not  dare  to  look  at  one  who  has  a 
cancer  on  his  face,  for  fear  of  embarrassing 
him.  And  would  you  want  Our  Lord  to  look 
upon  you  with  complacency,  disfigured  as  you 


192  SELF-PURIFICATION. 

are  by  sin  much  more  hideous  than  'any 
cancer  ? 

But  the  good  God  knows  our  misery.  He 
would  not  be  offended  by  it.  —  That  is  true 
of  what  arises  from  our  poor  nature.  That 
He  acknowledges  .and  pities.  We  are  the 
good  God's  paupers.  But  those  weaknesses 
of  the  will,  those  that  we  commit  through 
want  of  delicacy  and  because  we  prefer 
ourselves  to  Him,  —  these  the  good  God 
cannot  endure.  They  horrify  Him.  He  would 
rather  send  an  angel  to  chase  us  like  He- 
liodorus  from  His  presence. 

Be,  then,  pure  that  you  may  be  fit  for  the 
service  of  Our.  Lord.  It  is  at  this  we  must  aim. 
It  is  the  first  of  all  conditions.  All  the  rest 
without  that  is  nothing.  Souls  enter  heaven 
only  in  a  robe  washed  white  in  the  Blood 
of  the  Lamb.  If  it  is  not  entirely  white, 
they  have  to  finish  its  purification  in  pur- 
gatory. Now  you  are  serving  Our  Lord  in 
His  heaven  on  earth. 

Lastly,  you  come  to  Adoration  to  glorify 
God  by  your  praise,  your  homage,  and  to 
encircle     His    Eucharistic    Throne    like    the 


SELF-PURIFICATION.  193 

angels  and  saints,  chanting  at  the  foot  of  His 
throne  of  glory. 

But  tell  me,  do  you  think  you  can  glorify 
•God    with    impure    lips? 

You  should  by  your  love  erect  for  Him 
in  your  heart  a  throne  of  pure  gold,  as  the 
priests  raise  thrones  for  Him  in  the  hearts  of 
the  Faithful.  But  do  you  imagine  that  He 
will  mount  with  pleasure  a  throne  of  mire? 

Above  all  things,  then,  is  it  necessary  for 
you  to  become  pure  men.  Without  that,  you 
will  never  be  servants  capable  of  pleasing 
your  Master.  What  I  demand  of  you  to  that 
end  is  that  you  enter  into  yourselves,  ex- 
amine, yourselves  thoroughly,  have  no  con- 
fidence in  what  you  think  yourself  to  be,  but 
exact  of  yourselv^es  a  careful  account  of 
everything. 

Examine  again,  whether  your  Communions 
and  this  life,  made  up  -entirely  of  prayer,  are 
advancing  you  y:i  holiness.  In  other  words 
is  it  a  life  or  an  agony? 

And  whence  comes  all  the  misery?  From 
a  bad  will,  from  not  seriously  desiring  to 
enter  into  the  life  of  Jesus  Christ.    We  will 


194  SELF-PURIFICATION. 

it,  but  with  some  conditions.  We  will  it  for 
one  thing,  but  not  for  another. 

Enter,  then,,  into  yourselves.  You  will  be 
able  to  save  yourselves  in  the  world  by 
fulfilling  the  law  while  enjoying  its  wealth 
and  lawful  pleasures.  You  have  said:  I  will 
follow  the  narrow  path,  I  abandon  parents, 
family,  liberty.  You  have  quitted  all,  and 
you  have  joined  the  followers  of  Jesus  Christ. 
And,  after  all,  would  it  not  be  a  fine  thing 
to  do  nothing  more  than  the  people  of  the 
world,  and  to  gain  nothing  more  for  heaven 
than  they?  We -would,  then,  have  deceived 
the  good  God! 

The  blush  of  shame  mantles  my  forehead 
when  I  think  that  I  was  more  perfect  in  the 
world  than  I  am  to-day!  I  have  by  degrees 
become  accustomed  to  God.  Oh,  what  a  mis- 
fortune ! 

To  decide  the  question,  examine  these 
three  points:  Are  you  sur^  of  being  in  the 
state  of  grace  or  in  that  of  sin?  Are  you 
faithful  to  your  service?  What  glory  are  you 
procuring   to   Our   Lord? 


5ts;&s£&^Sjii&!^^^5&*&^!£ig^!&^^S£^^3 


BENEFITS 


^        of  the  RELIGIOUS  LIFE. 


HE  Imitation  says:  "  Frequently  ask 
yourself  why  you  have  left  the  world 
and  entered  religion.  Is  it  not  to  serve  God 
and  become  a  spiritual  man?" 

It  is  necessary  for  us  to  know  the  great- 
ness of  the  grace  which  God  has  bestowed 
on  us  in  withdrawing  us  from  the  world, 
and  placing  us  in  the  religious  life.  It  is  a 
grace  of  infinite  mercy,  ae  well  on  account 
of  the  dangers  from  which  it  snatches  us, 
as  of  the  means  of  salvation  that  it  gives  us 

I.  —  Now,  I  say  we  have  embraced  the 
religious  life,  first,  in  order  to  shelter  our- 
selves from  the  dangers  of  the  world.  There 
are  certainly  many  perils  in  the  world,  and 
we  might  very  easily  lose  our  soul  therein, 
as  so  many  others  have  done  who  were 
better  than  we.  We  felt  our  weakness,  we 
feared  losing  our  soul  there.  We  suffered 
the  law  of  the  members;  we  have  already 
made  shipwreck;  we  are  wounded.    And  then, 


196  BENEFITS    OF    THE    RELIGIOUS    LIFE. 


if  we  have  already  served  it,  it  retains  do- 
minion ovier  us,  and  we  are  afraid  of  falling 
forever  under  its  yoke. 

Nothing  is-  more  frightfully  true  than  this 
principle,  namely,  that  what  has  once  enslaved 
us  always  retains  its  power  over  us,  even 
after  our  deliverance.  It  is  the  law  of 
strength  against  weakness,  the  chastisement 
that  sin  brings  with  it.  Hence  it  is,  that  so 
many  persons  converted  and  purified,  fall 
back  on  the  first  temptation,  on  the  first  oc- 
casion which  their  old  master  shows  them. 
The  old  law  has  again  seized  upon  them. 
Evil  has  a  magnetic  influence.  It  deposits 
seeds.  It  leaves  firebrands,  which  ignite  at 
the  first  contact,  like  charred  wood.  There 
is  an  old  sympathetic  bond,  which  drags 
them  along.  Saint  John  has  well  said  that 
he  who  sins  becomes  the  slave  of  sin.  It 
will  hold  him  captive  a  long  time,  even  after 
he  has  shaken  off  its  chains.  It  is  God's 
revenge  upon  the  sinner  who,  rejecting  His 
yoke,  falls  under  that  of  the  devil. 

Fearing  to  be,  like  so  many  others,  enslav- 
ed forever^  we  have  sought  a  refuge  from  it. 


BENEFITS    OF    THE    RELIGIOUS    LIFE.     197 

We  have  done  well.  That  is  prudent.  In 
ancient  times,  the  general  of  the  army  used 
to  proclaim:  "Let  those  that  fear,  with- 
draw! "  And  the  timid  were  not  ashamed  to 
do  so,  for  it  was  a  pledge  of  security,  not 
only  for  themselves,  but  for  the  whole  army. 

In  the  same  way,  God  told  Abraham  to  quit 
the  land  of  Ur,  because  in  it  he  would 
not  be  able  to  sanctify  himself.  He  made 
Lot,  also,  leave  Gommorrha,  although  he  was 
a  saint  ifi  the  midst  of  that  abominable  city. 
God  acted  prudently.  The  highest  prudence, 
and   the  most   laudable,    is    to   shun    danger. 

Who  is  that  handful  of  soldiers  who  always 
press  on  ahead?  Who  are  those  presump- 
tuous young  men  who  rashly  confront  the 
greatest  dangers,  wishing  to  convert  the  whole 
world?  They  will  soon  be  punished,  for  pun- 
ishment   always    follows    presumption. 

Wounded,  or  fully  expecting  to  be  so,  we 
retire  into  the  fortress  with  those  that  are 
unable  to  struggle  on  the  plain.  And  so, 
vocation  is,  first  of  all,  an  affair  of  prudence 
and  of  the  love  of  one's  salvation.  There 
is,  .consequently,  no  room  for  being  so  proud 


198  BENEFITS     OF    THE     RELIGIOUS     LIFE. 

of  having  quitted  the  world  for  the  religious 
state.  We  have  done  it  for  ourselves,  and 
we  have  been  the  gainers. 

■  I  know  well  that  there  are  some  difficulties 
to  be  overcome,  and  that  it  is  meritorious, 
but  when  one  labors  for  one's  own  interest, 
nothing  costs.  At  what  price  would  not  a 
man  have  purchased  a  place  in  the  Ark? 
At  what  pi  ice  ought  not  one  to  purchase  a 
place  in  the  religious  life,  the  true  ark  of 
salvation    of   which   Jesus   is    the   pilot! 

We  read  in  the  Gospel  that  a  man  having 
found  a  treasure,  went  to  hide  it  in  a  field, 
and  then  sold  all  he  had  and  bought  that 
field.  Ah,  well !  for  the  religious  life  we  ought 
to  sell  all,  for  it  is  the  incomparable  treasure. 

It  is,  then,  a  prudent  choice,  one  all  to 
your  own  advantage,  and  for  which  you  ought 
not  to  be  paid.  One  does  not  pay  a  sick 
man,  because  he  has  cured  him,  nor  a  guest 
because  the  host  lias  received  him.  Be,  then, 
most  grateful  that  you  are  allowed  to  stay 
here.  Let  no  one  say:  "Religion  is  indebted 
to  me,  for.  I  render  it  services.  "  What  ser- 
vices  do  you  render  it?    Rather  are  you  a 


BENEFITS    OF    THE    RELIGIOUS    LIFE,     199 

weight  upon  it.  Others  aspire  to  heaven,  but 
you  by  your  example  hold  them  back,  to 
earth. 

I  am,_  therefore,  not  astonished  at  the  se- 
verity of  the  ancient  Fathers  of  the  Desert 
in  admitting  their  disciples.  They  received 
them  first  with  contempt,  humbling  them, 
and  making  them  wait  long  weeping  at  the 
gate.  They  mortified  them,  and  submitted 
them  for  several  years  to  all  sorts  of  trials, 
and  only  then  did  they  allow  them  to  enter 
their  monasteries. 

In  our  day,  faith  is  wanting  for  the  en- 
durance of  such  trials.  Men  speak  only  of 
their  rights.  —  Rights  to  what,  if  you  please? 
You  want  to  be  a  novice? —  'Humble  yourself, 
serve,  and  learn.  The  religious  life  expects 
nothing  of  you,  but  you  expect  everything 
from  it.  What  it  asks  of  you  is  not  your 
services,   but  yourself. 

The  religious  has  only  one  right,  and  that 
is,  to  be  humbled  and  contemned,  none  other. 
Should  you  dare  look  for  esteem  and  honor? 
What!  you  would  come  to  get  everything,- 
to  receive  everything  from  religion  1    It  gives 


200  BENEFITS    OF    THE    RELIGIOUS    LIFE. 

you  peace,  safety,  perseverance.  It  snatches 
you  from  the  world  and  your  own  destruction, 
and  yet  you  want  honors!  You  want  to  be 
recompensed  and  paid  for  that ! 

Ah  I  rather  attach  yourself  to  it,  in  spite 
of  all  that  you  may  have  to  suffer,  in  it,  as 
to  your  only  refuge  of  salvation.  It  is  for 
you  the  necessary,  the  indispensable  grace. 
If  they  chase  you  out  by  on&  door,  return 
by  another.  Tie  yourself  to  the  altar-cloths 
rather   than  let   them   diive   you  hence! 

See  how  unhappy  are  they  who  leave  re- 
ligion! Daily  ask  God  to  keep  you  in  it, 
and  make  every  effort  to  deserve  it,  for  it  is 
a  favor,  a  mercy,  and  not  a  right.  Count 
not  too  much  on  your  graces,  on  your  call, 
without  your  own  most  active  co9i>eratioa 
While  a  man  is  carried  on  by  grace,  he  is 
accounted  brave  and  generous ;  but  left  to 
himself,  he  throws  down  his  arms  at  the 
first  shock,  and  plunges  into  ignominy.  He 
cannot  hold  out  against  his  senses  without 
the  rampart  of  very  great  virtue.  There  are 
some  flowers  that  bloom  only  in  a  hot-house 
and   under   a   glass   shade;    you   are   oiie   of 


BENEFITS    OF    THE    RELIGIOUS    LIFE.    201 

them.  If  you  do  not  believe  it,  go  make  a 
trial  of  it  —  or  rather,  may  God  preserve  you 
from  ever  doing-  so! 

II.  —  The  religious  life  not  only  preseiVes 
you  from  the  danger  of  perdition,  but  it 
provides  you  with  the  surest  and  most  abun- 
dant means   of  salvation. 

There  is  cultivated,  there  is  the  flower  of 
the  favored  garden  which  the  Church  pre- 
serves for  her  Spouse:  Flantatus  in  domo 
Domini.  It  is  planted  by  God,  and  cultivated 
with  every  care  by  Jesus  Christ, 

There  it  is  trimmed  and  pruned  in  order 
to  bear  more  fruit.  The  good  tree  is  that 
which  is  pruned.  The  nutritive  force,  scatter- 
ed throughout  too  many  little  branches,  would 
not  produce  fine  fruit.  They  lop  off  most 
of  the  shoots,  keeping  only  the  principal  ones 
that  give  hope.  And  so,  in  the  religious  life, 
they  remove  you  from  all  that  could  distract 
you,  divide  your  attention,  and  they  concen- 
trate you  upon  the  one  thing  necessary. 

In  religion  they  mash  the  fare  for  you. 
They  give  you  the  portion  of  labor  for  every 
day,  every  instant,  all  prepared.    They  do  not 

The  Divine  Eucharist.  14 


202   BENEFITS     OF    THE    RELIGIOUS     LIFE. 

ask  you  to  weave  the  garment  of  Our  Lord 
that  you.  have  to  wear;  they  give  it  to  you 
ready-made.  All  you  have  to  do  is  to  adorn  it. 

As  to  the  servant  of  the  Gospel  who  re- 
ceived the  five  talents  in  order  to  turn  them 
to  the  best  account,  Jesus  Christ  gives  to  you 
the  funds  of  the  religious  life  that  you  may 
devote  yourself  to  making  them  fructify  by 
the    most   suitable    means. 

Our  Lord  would  have  us  yield  like  the  ever 
verdant  trees  of  the  Orient,  which  are  always 
covered   with   flowers,   buds,   and   ripe   fruits. 

His  Church,  His  saints,  His  graces,  —  all 
are  occupied  with  us  in  the  religious  life! 

What  a  misfortune  if  such  means  cannot 
make  us  good!  Why?  The  seed  is  bad. 
There  is  some  inward  canker,  a,  hidden  rot, 
which    is   eating    the    plant    within. 

If  we  do  not  advance,  if  even  we  do  not 
keep  ourselves  safe,  it  must  be  confessed 
that  we  are  very  bad  to  render  useless  graces 
so  magnificent!  Ah!  what  would  have  be- 
come of  us  in  the  world  .^  Long  ago  we 
might   have   been   dead! 

Let  us,   then,  make  up  for  time  lost.    Let 


BENEFITS     OF    THE    RELIGIOUS    LIFE.    203 

US  quickly  regain  what  is  wanting  to  us.  Let 
us  be  more  faithful.  If  we  should  lose  our 
soul  with  so  great  graces,  it  would  show  that 
from  the  beginning  we  were  eaten  away  at 
the  root  by  some  kind  of  a  worm,  which 
sucked  all  the  sap  and  rendered  everything 
useless 

You  perform  all  your  exercises  as  do  your 
brethren,  and  yet  you  do  not  profit  by  them. 
There  is,  then,  some  secret  defect,  some 
impurity  in.  the  blood.  Royal  families  have 
adopted  stray  children,  and  had  them  educat- 
ed in  the  very  best  manner.  But  the  day 
came  when  their  low  instincts  appeared  and, 
instead  of  the  princes  they  would  have  wished, 
they  found  only  proud  fools  or  cruel  tyrants. 
Jesus  Christ  has  taken  us  in  our  baseness  and 
profound  misery,  to  make  us  men  according 
to  His  Heart.  Was  He  not  deceived?  Like 
lions  that  they  want  to  tame,  but  which 
little  by  little  regain  their  natural  ferocity, 
shall  we  now  show  our  claws  ?  Shall  we  be 
only  young  wolves  that  the  Society,  like  a 
good  mother,  nourished  in  her  bosom,  be- 
lieving them  her  children,  but  who  now  rise 


204    BENEFITS     OF    THE     RELIGIOUS     LIFE. 

up  to  devour  her?  But  you  can  never  injure 
her,  because  she  comes  from  God,  who  will 
continue  to  protect  her  as  He  has  hitherto 
done,  because  she  is  His.  The  chastisement 
will  fall  back  upon  yourselves.  He  will 
punish  you  as  ingrates  and  parricides  who 
ha\'e  not  known  how  to  understand  His  in- 
finite  love! 

Come,  then,  see  whether  you  profit  by 
the  grace  of  the  religious  life.  If  not,  the 
blame  lies  with  yourself ;  you  are  not  wholly 
a  religious.  Instead  of  inclosing  yourself  in 
the  circle  of  perfection,  and  saying :  "  Cost 
what  it  may,  I  will  never  more  cross  lliat 
line.  "  you  trace  for  yourself  one  that  suits 
your  own  fancy,  you  lay  down  conditions 
to  God.  What  happens?  Thus,  you  find  in 
religion  the  same  dangers  as  in  the  world, 
you  lose  your  soul  in  the  very  port  of  sal 
vation. 


^^^^!^^^^^^^^^^j&^^^*3&^j 


The  EUGHARISTIC 


VOCATION. 


Non  vos  mc  elegistis,  sed  ego  elegi  vos. 
You  have  not  chosen  Me,  but  I  have 
chosen  you. 

HEN  one  is  in  a  vocation  which  demands 
so  much  holiness  of  its  members  as 
does  ours,  one  is,  indeed,  obliged  to  say, 
"  God  has  called  me  here,  I  have  certainly 
not  intruded  myself.  It  is  He  who  has  chosen 
and  invited  me.  "  If  one  could  even  doubt 
of  this  call,  one  would  be  tempted  to  abandon 
it,  so  greatly  would  he  feel  his  mability  to 
correspond   worthily   with   it. 

I.  —  Now,  we  have  been  chosen  by  God 
the  Father  from  all  eternity  to  become  by 
our  state  adorers  of  His  Divine  Son  in  the 
Most  Blessed  Sacrament.  He  predestined  us 
for  this  glorious  service,  for  its  graces  and 
its  recompense. 

The  Father  created  us  to  give  us  to  Jesus 
Christ,  and  for  nothing  else.  All  creatures 
are,  doubtless,  for  Him,  but  there  is  a  bier- 


206         THE     EUCHARISTIC     VOCATION. 

archy  in  graces,  there  are  vocations  that  are 
at  the  same  time  dignities.  Thus,  we  have 
the  sacerdotal  vocation,  the  rehgious  voca- 
tion, and  our  own,  which  brings  us  so  near 
to   the   King,   thereby  ennobling  us. 

God  the  Father  chose  us  out  of  a  thousand, 
and  all  His  graces  were  destined  to  make 
of  us  adorers.  He  disposed  us  body  and 
soul  for  that.  He  gave  us  the  strength,  the 
will,  congeniality,  sympathy  for  this  service. 
He  made  us  love  this  vocation,  and  that  is 
the  reason  why  all  who  are  truly  called, 
derive  so  much  benefit  in  the  Society  of  the 
Most  Blessed  Sacrament.  There  they  are  in 
their  centre  and  end.  All  in  them  tends  to 
that.  Place  them  elsewhere  and  they  suffer, 
they  are  no  longer  on  their  own  soil,  under 
the  rays  of  the  Sun  thai  is  necessary  for  them. 
No,  they  are  never  well-off  but  there.  Every- 
where else  they  are  on  strange  ground,  useless 
and  without  aptitude,  because  their  graces, 
their  supernatural  qualifications,  and  even 
their  natural  dispKJsitions  ^Hvere  prepared  by 
God  for  the  life  of  adoration  and'  for  the 
Most  Blessed  Sacrainent. 


THE    EUCHARISTIC     VOCATION.  207 


This  is  a  fact  confirmed  by  experience.  I 
am  not  speaking  of  those  that  go  away, 
unfaithful  to  their  sacred  engagements.  God 
knows  what  will  become  of  those  poor  un- 
fortunates. But  I  am  speaking  of  those  who, 
being  only  aspii'ants  just  beginning  to  receive 
the  Eucharistic  influences,  abandon  their  vo- 
cation for  something  they  think  better.  They 
are  happy  nowhere  else.  Their  centre  was 
before  the  Blessed  Sacrament.  There  they 
should  have  lived  and  died.  You  yourselves, 
when  on  a  journey,  no  longer  know  how  to 
pray  in  the  churches,  although  Our  Lord  is 
there  present.  But  it  is  not  your  Jesus  radiant 
and  glorious,  such  as  the  Church  offers  you 
to  honor  by  the  solemn  worship  of  Expo- 
sition. 

I  tell  you  that,  when  you  were  created, 
the  Father  said  to  His  Son:  "Here  is  an 
adorer  for  Thee.  I  will  endow  him  with  all 
the  aptitude,  graces,  and  qualifications  for 
it,  and  he  will  be  pleasing  to  Thee.  " 

H.  —  Let  us  examine  what  are  the  quahfi- 
cations  for  this  vocation.  I  am  not  speaking 
of  what  we  are,  alas!  but  of  what  the  vocation 


208         THE     EUCHARISTIC     VOCATION. 

is  before  God.    I  want  to  tell  you  how  great 

and  sublime  this  grace  is  in  itself.  I  am 
not  comparing-  it  with  what  we  are,  nor  to 
the  vocation  of  others,  but  I  am  judging 
things  in  themselves  according  to  received 
principles,  in  order  to  classify  the  virtues 
and  the  different  states  of  the  religious  life. 
Now,  the  Eucharistic  vocation  is  among  all 
others  the  excellent  one.  The  excellence  of 
a  thing  depends  upon  its  end.  The  end  of 
our  vocation  is  the  service  of  Our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ  in  the  most  glorious  state  that 
He  can  hav^e  here  below,  in  the  solemn  and 
perpetual  Exposition  of  the  Blessed  Sacra- 
ment. There  can  be  no  end  more  excellent 
than  that,  inasmuch  as  by  our  service,  we 
come  in  immediate  contact  with  Our  Lord. 
There  is  no  intermediary'  between  Our  Lord 
and  our  sernce.  It  is  not  the  neighbor,  works 
of  zeal  and,  through  the  neighbor  and  those 
works.  Our  Lord.  No,  but  it  is  Our  Lord 
Himself  alone  and  immediately  whom  we 
serve.  Like  the  angels  who  never  quit  the 
throne  of  the  Lamb,  we  are  bound  by  our 
vocation    to    the    adorable    Person    of    Jesus 


THE    EUCHARISTIC     VOCATION.  209 

Christ,  not  to  His  members  nor  to  His  works. 
From  Him,  then,  and  from  Him  directly,  our 
vocation,  derives  its  dignity  and  excellence,- 
for   whatever  serves   the  king   is   royal. 

Nothing  on  this  earth  is  more  excellent  than 
the  Eucharist,  for  Jesus  Christ  is  no  longer 
■passible  as  during  His  mortal  life,  but  resusci- 
tated,  glorified,   and   regnant. 

Again,  we  serve  by  adoration.  But  ador- 
ation being  the  expression  of  the  virtue  of 
religion  is  by  that  very  fact  the  most  ex- 
cellent of  all  the  virtues.  It  is  again  the 
e'xercise  of  the  theological  virtues  of  faith, 
hope,  and  charity,  and  these  virtues  having 
God  for  immediate  end,  hold  the  first  rank 
among  the  virtues,  and  communicate  their 
eminent  dignity  to  the  virtue  of  adora- 
tion. Oh!  had  we  comprehended  a,ll  the  ex- 
cellence of  the  vocation  that  God  has  given 
us,  never  would  we  have  dared  to  follow  it! 

But  for  a  vocation  so  elevated,  greater 
perfection  is  necessary.  How  far  we  are  from 
it!  We  should  have  the  sanctity  of  Mary, 
of  the  angels  and  the  saints,  since  we  have 
here  below  the  same  employment  as  they  have 


210         THE     EUCHARISTIC     VOCATION. 

in  heaven  before  the  throne  of  God.  If  we 
only  had  the  virtues  of  the  Christian! 

WTiat  a  difference  between  what  we  have 
and  what  we  ought  to  havel  These  are  two 
abysses!    It  makes  one  tremble! 

You  will  say :  "  Hut  why  has  the  Father 
called  us  to  it,  if  He  knew  that  we  should  so 
badly  correspond  to  it?"  He  has  loved  us 
too  much!  He  has  called  us  in  spire  of  our 
unworthiness,  in  'the  hope  of  elevating  us  to 
the  level  of  our  duties. 

Honor  imposes  obligations,  they  say. 
Honor  your  vocation  by  your  virtues.  Never 
sully  the  mantle  of  honor  and  glory,  that 
beautiful  white  garment  of  Jesus  Christ,  which 
covers  your  indigence,  and  never  relax  in 
this  sublime  service  of  the  King  of  Kings! 

Ill  —  Our  vocation  is  holy.  Like  that 
which  makes  virtue  of  the  means,  that  is 
perfection  more  or  less  great  with  which  one 
attains  his  end,  our  vocation  possesses  an 
immense  power  of  sanctification,  because  it 
places  us  in  a  very  special  manner  in  par- 
ticipation with  the  state  of  love  the  highest 
and  the  most  perfect,  namely,  the  Eucharistic 


THE    EUCHARISTIC    VOCATION.  211 


State,  in  which  Our  Lord  carried  His  love 
to  its  utmost  consummation. 

It  is  holy,  because  it  gives  us  the  most 
powerful  means  of  sanctification,  putting  us 
m  immediate  relation  with  them  and  in  liv- 
ing intercourse  with  Jesus  Christ,  who  is  not 
only  a  grace,  but  the  Author  Himself  of 
grace  in  His  Most  Holy  Sacrament. 

It  renders  great  glory  to  the  Heavenly 
Father,  because  it  presents  to  Him  Jesus,  His 
Son,  in  the  Blessed  Sacrament.  Now,  Jesus 
is  there  in  a  more  perfect  state  than  He  was 
during  His  mortal  life.  He  is  there  glorified 
and  imrnortal,  and  it  is  this  state  of  glory  and 
royalty  that  He  is  incessantly  immolating  to 
the  glory  of   His  Father. 

Well  now!  Our  vocation  renders  us  partic 
ipants  in  these  states  of  Our  Lord.  He  wills 
to  reproduce  them  in  us  and  to  exercise  them 
through  us.     It  is  for  that  He  has  called  us. 

But  in  order  to  correspond  worthily  to  this 
call,  we  must  become  saints.  So  holy  is  God 
that  He  finds  stains  in  the  angels  themselves. 
What  will  it  be  with  us  ?  At  least,  we  should 
imitate     them     and,    veiling    our    face,    say; 


212         THE     EUCHARISTIC     VOCATION. 

"Lord,  I  am  not  worthy  of  so  holy  a  voca- 
tion! " 

And  yet  Our  Lord  permits  us  to  approach 
Him.  He  keeps  us  for  His  service.  He  ex- 
I>oses  Himself  for  us  on  His  throne  of  love. 
He  is  satisfied  with  our  poor  service,  and. 
daily  does  He  load  us  with  new  graces. 
Seek  not  the  reason  for  this,  saxing  in  His 
ineffable  condescension.  He  hopes  to  make 
us  understand,  at  last,  what  we  owe  Him.  and 
to  render  us  worthy  of  His'  adorable  sanctity. 

IV.  —  Our  vocation  is  eminently  apostolic. 
The  apostolate  is  nothing  else  than  the  diffu- 
sion of  God's  reign  in  souls.  It  is  the  prop 
agation  of  His  knowledge  and  love,  the 
destruction  of  sin.  and  the  exaltation  of  Our 
Lord  and  His  Church.  Behold  the  great  pow- 
er of  apostolate  that   our  vocation   gives  us- 

If  judged  by  our  exterior  life,  we  pass  for 
useless  beings.  We  do  not  run  after  sinners, 
we  do  not  go  on  missions,  we  do  not  teach. 
Biit  it  would  be  a  mistake  to  place  the  whole 
apostolate  in  the  means  of  exterior  zeaJ.  Such 
works  are  only  the  shell,  the  canal.  The 
apostolate  consists  essentially  of  prayer  which 


THE     EUCHARISTIC     VOCATION.  213 

obtains  grace,  of  sacrifice  which  expiates  sin 
and  applies  the  merits  and  satisfactions  of 
Jesus  Christ.  He  is  the  most  apostohc  who, 
with  Saint  Paul,  the  Apostle  par  excellence^ 
completes,  fills  up  in  himself  what  is  wanting 
to  the  Passion  of  Jesus  Christ  for  the  Church; 
that  is,  who  makes  it  live  again,  merit,  suffer, 
atone  in  his  own  soul  and  body ;  for  Jesus 
Christ  lives  again  in  us,  to  save  through  us. 
He  demands  of  us  to  complete  Him  by 
uniting"  our  merits  to  His.  It  is  then  that  He 
continues  His  office  of  Saviour,  for  He  is 
the  Apostle  of  the  Apostles,  and  it  is  He 
alone  who,  in  the  Apostles,  redeems  souls 
by  grace  and  by  the  power  of  His  Blood. 
Now,  we  make  Our  Lord  labor  for  the  con- 
version of  souls  by  exposing  Him  and  uniting 
our  adoration  to  His  prayers  and  apostolate. 
It  is  the  unique  privilege  of  our  vocation 
to  expose  Our  JLord,  to  place  Him  in  the 
solemn  exercise  of  His  office  of  Mediator. 
Indeed,  it  is  only  because  we  are  at  His  feet 
that  He  is  on  His  throne,  for  the  Church 
would  not  permit  His  perpetual  Presence, 
day  and  night,  were  there  no  adorers  to  be 


214         THE     EUCHARISTIC     VOCATION. 

found  who  would  succeed  one  another  by 
day  and  by  night.  We.  are  necessary  to  Him 
that  He  may  manifest  Himself  in  His  Ex- 
position.   We  unbind  His  power. 

And  what  does  He  do  upon  that  throne "- 
He  presents  to  His  Father  His  adoration. 
His  annihilation  to  compensate  for  pride. 
His  thanksgiving-  to  compensate  for  ingrat- 
itude, His  Blood  and  His  sufferings  to  atone 
for  sin,  and  His  incessant  prayers  to  obtain 
the  salvation  of  the  souls  He  has  redeemed. 
Behold  the  public  Victim!  But  prostrate  at 
His  feet,  we  unite  m  His  intentions,  we  enter 
into  His  functions  of  Mediator.  With  Hini  we 
save  and  redeem,  we  participate  in  His  perpet- 
ual   apostolate. 

Think  you  that  those  prayers  of  Jesus  Christ 
are  not  more  powerful  than  all  apostolic 
works?  They  are  their  condition  and  life. 
Now,  see,  in  what  way  we  are  apostles,  name- 
ly, by  imion  of  prayer,  suffering,  sacrifice 
with    Jesus    Christ. 

The  missionary  spreads  abroad  but  one 
grace;  we  open  the  Source  of  graces.  The 
apostolate  is,  above  all,  sacrifice.    Jesus  suffer- 


THE    EUCHARISTIC     VOCATION.  215 

ing  no  longer  in  Himself,  wishes  to  suffer  in 
us.  He  demands  of  us  the  sacrifice  of  our 
tastes,  of  our  liberty,  of  our  life,  of  our 
whole  self  in  adoration.  We  offer  it  to  Him, 
and  thereby  we  are  possessed  of  the  greatest 
power  of  the  apostolate.  And  that  without 
any  danger  of  mixing  up  with  it  the  in- 
fidelity of  pride,  which  may  vitiate  the  apos- 
tolate; without  the  danger  of  stealing  a  part 
of  the  fruits  for  our  own  profit,  for  the 
apostolic  life  has  its  charms.  When  a 
preacher  has  health  and  talent ;  when  he 
sees  his  audience  hanging  on  his  words, 
eagerly  following  his  sermons;  when,  he  be- 
holds the  fruits  oi  his  labors;  when  he  brings 
forth  souls  to  grace,  he  experiences  all  the 
joys  of  a  mother.  His  labor  was,  perhaps, 
severe,  but  it  was  mixed  with  many  great 
joys  and  sweet  rewards. 

But  as  for  us,-  our  apostolate  immolates  us 
entirely  in  secret,  in  forgetfulness,  in  death 
at  the  feet  of  the  Divine  Victim.  We  see 
none  of  its  fruits,  we  taste  not  its  recom- 
pense; we  are  satisfied  in  knowing  that  it  is 
productive. 


216         THE     EUCHARISTIC     VOCATION. 

Surely,  he  who  baptizes,  does  not  do  more 
than  he  who  has  merited  the  grace  of  that 
Baptism.  If  no  one  prayed,  if  there  were  not 
some  souls  to  immolate  themselves  with  Jesus 
Christ  for  sinners,  the  missionary's  voice 
would  be  but  the  empty  sound  of  a  tinkhng 
cymbal.  What  could  the  winds  produce,  if 
the  sun  did  not  fertilize  the  seeds  they  scatter? 

You  will  say,  perhaps:  "  Ic  is  a  good  thing, 
though,  to  preach  the  truth,  to  save  souls 
by  the  word.  "  But  you  iviU  preach,  you 
tvill  save,  only  it  will  be  by^  Our  Lord,  by 
His  direct  influence.  Others  preach  Him  by 
His  grace;  we,  by  Himself.  Others  manifest 
His  truth;  we,  ice  show  Himself  in  His  Pres- 
ence of  love,  in  His  living  Presence.  By 
Him  you  will  worlf,  you  will  do  much.  But 
preach  only  by  Him,  and  you  will  see  that 
people  will  run  to  the  Master  from  all  sides, 
for  He  has  said:  "When  I  shall  be  lifted 
up,  I  will  draw  all  to  Me.  " 

Behold  your  vocation!  It  is  most  beautiful. 
Love  it  well,and  never  compare  it  with  others. 
Understand  clearly  that  the  service  of  Our 
Lord's    Person   is    of    far   greater   importance 


THE    EUCHARISTIC    VOCATION.  217 

than  the  service  of  souls,  and  Jesus  is  cer- 
tarniy  as  great  as  Saint  Dominic  or  Saint 
Francis. 

V.  —  But  if  it  is  so  beautiful  a  \'Ocation,  how 
is  it  that  we  are  so  few  in  number?  How 
is  it  that  Our  Lord  has  so  few  disciples 
while  the  saints  have  so  many? 

It  is  because  the  saints  are  looked  upon  as 
protectors,  as  friends  near  God.  People  go 
to  them  for  help,  to  make  use  of  their  power, 
their  prayers,  their  protection,  and  all  that 
is  very  consoling.  It  is  greatly  to  their  ad- 
vantage. 

But  when  they  go  to  Our  Lord,  they  find 
nothing  for  self.  He  is  the  King,  and  they 
come  to  serve  Him.  He  is  the  Master,  be- 
fore whom  they  come  to  bow  down  and 
adore.  He  is  the  immolated  Victim,  and  they 
come  to  immolate  self  with  Him. 

They  do  not  come  to  Our  Lord  to  arm 
themselves  with  His  help  and  protection,  that 
they  may  afterward  undertake  good  works 
for  which  they,  may  have  an  attraction.  That 
is  the  characteristic  of  the  active  vocations. 
But  here  Jesus  says  to  youi  "  Serve  Me,  adore 

The  Divine  Eucharist.  .S 


218        THE    EUCHARISTIG    VOCATION. 

Me  with  your  whole  self.  Keep  back  nothing 
for  self.  Sacrifice  to  Me  your  attractions, 
your  activity,  your  talents,  your  zeal,  your 
life,  all  I  Lay  all  that  at  My  feet,  make  a 
perfect  holocaust  of  it.  Men  honor  Me  as 
much  in  the  sacrifice  of  their  gifts  to  Me 
as  in  using'  them  for  the  increase  of  My, 
glory:  Deus  mens  cs  tu,  quoniam  lonoruw 
vieorum  non  eges. 

So  too,  when  you  came  here,  were  you 
asked:  "What  do  you  bring?  What  dowry? 
What  talents?"  No,  no',  never  has  such  a 
word  left  my  lips!    Never  was  it  in  my  heart  I 

But  you  were  asked:  Will  you  serve?" 
Come,  then.  We  do  not  ask  anything  of  a 
servant.  We  give  him  something.  The  only 
promis?  exacted  of  him  is  that  he  should  be 
faithful  to  the  interests  of  the  master  whom 
he  wishes  to  serve.  Those  things  are  de- 
manded elsewhere,  for  they  have  need  of 
wealth,  they  have  to  exercise  zeal  and  mul- 
tiply works  of  charity.  Among  'us,  we  have 
only  to  serve  and  adore  by  the  gift  of  self. 

With  regard  to  virtues,  were  you  asked 
whether  you  would  become  a  samt,  whether 


TPIE     EUCHARISTIC     VOCATION.  219 

you  would  be  humble,  mortified,  whether  you 
had  performed  some  good  works  I    Not  at  all! 

But  you  were  simply  asked:  "Who  sent 
you?  Wlio  attracted  you?"  "Jesus  Christ 
in  His  Sacrament."  'To  whom  do  you 
come?"  'To  Jesus  Christ."  "On  what 
conditions'''"     "None." 

"Have  you  long  desired  this?  Hive  you 
tested    your    desire?"     "Yes." 

"Will  you  have  the  courage  to  go  thiough 
fire,  for  it  is  a  fiery  vocation?"  "I  hope 
so.  '    "Come  in,  then,  come  in  quickly!" 

They  then  initiated  you  into  the  adoration  and 
service  of  Our  Lord.  They  told  you  that  was 
all  that  was  necessary  for  your  new  vocation. 
They  recommended  you  to  have  but  one  aim, 
but  one  sole  view,  the  service  of  His  Divine 
Person,  to  desire  to  please  Him  alone,  and  to 
labor  only  for  Him  alone,  for  here  He  is  all. 
The  Society  is  not  your  end.  It  comes  only 
after  Our  Lord.  It  and  all  its  members  are 
only  His  servants.,  and  they  who  direct  it 
are  only  the  head-servants  of  the  only  Master, 
Our  Lard.  If  yc^u.are  pleasing  to  Him,  you 
shall  Jiave  nothing  to  fear.    If  you  serve  Him 


220         THE     EUCHARISTIC     VOCATION. 

well,    nothing    more    can    be    asked    oi    you 
for  to   serve  Him  is  your  whole  perfection. 

In  other  places,  they,  do  well  to  exact  ap- 
titude in  their  subjects  for  such  or  such  a 
work,  since  it  is  for  that  they  are  received; 
for  instance,  leaching,  the  missions.  When 
one  labors  in  a  vineyard,  one  has  need  of 
tools.  As  for  us,  we  do  not  employ  ourselves 
in  what  might  forward  the  general  good,  be- 
cause it  is  not  the  vine,  but  the  Master  of 
the  vine  that  we  cultivate. 

Inquiry  was  made  however,  as  to  your 
respectability.  No  one  comes  here  to  do 
penance  for  a  life  of  disorders.  There  are 
tuher  places  for  that.  The  couit  of  the  King 
must  not  become  a  penitentiary  and,  before 
being  admitted  to  His  service,  it  must  be 
proved  that  applicants  have  always  led.  a 
respectable  life. 

Still  another  condition  was  proposed  to  you, 
namely:  "Will  you  take  your  place  on  this 
prie-Dieu  and,  like  the  candle  before  you, 
there  burn,  there  be  totally  consumed  without 
even  a  little  ashes  remaining? 

■  Will  you  be  servants  iu  the  full  acceptation 


THE    EUCHARISTIC     VOCATION.  221 

of  the  word?"  You  should  serve  Him  by 
the  entire  gift  of  self,  with  no  other  end 
than  that  of  annihilating  self  that  He  rnay 
appear  Surely,  the  servant  cannot  presume 
to  share  the  honors  of  his  master. 

But  it  is  precisely  this  service  by  one's 
whole  self,  by  the  sacrifice  of  even  ono's 
personality,  which  must  disappear,  that  costs. 
You  must   be  nothing:    He   must   be  all! 

Oh,  how  difficult  it  is  to  make  one's  self 
one's  own  end  in  hothing!  See  whether  you  do 
not  take  yourself  back  ten  times  a  d.iy, 
acting  by  yourself,  for  yourself,  looking  out 
for  your  own  repose,  speculating  upon  your 
strength,  acting  naturally;  and  yet  you  must 
reach  the  point  of  being  all  His,  all  for  Him, 
all  by  Him! 

VI.  —  Hence,  remember  that  the  Society 
O'Ught  to  do  only  one  thing,  and  that  is,  to 
make  you  disappear  as  much  as  possible,  in 
order  the  more  to  exalt  Our  Lord  by  your 
abasement.  It  should  neither  give  nor  per- 
sonify itself  in  any  of  its  members,  were  lie 
the  holiest  and  the  most  learned,  but  remain 
only  the  servant  of  Jesus,  referring  to  Him 


222         THE     EUCHARISTIC     VOCATION. 

and  offering  to  Him  the  excellent  fruits  of 
this  member  on  wliom  God  has  lavished  some 
of  His  best  gifts.  It  ought  not  to  glory  in 
his  success,  but  in  having  a  better  victim, 
as  did  Abel,  to  offer  to  his  Divine  Master. 
You  may  perform,  also,  the  most  brilliant 
works,  and  receive  neither  praise  nor  notice; 
on  the  contrary,  they  should  put  you  and 
your  works  down  very  low,  all  the  more  to 
honor  the  Lord  alone,  who  has  been  acting 
in  you.  But  you,  you  exalt  yourself  indind 
ually?    Never! 

Praise  and  glory  are  foj-  Our  Lord  alone, 
d.nd.  all  those  grand  works  are,  after  all, 
only  what  you  ought  to  perform,  and  they 
are  very  small  compared  with  what  the  King 
whom  you  serve  merits!  To  praise  you,  to 
thank  you,  would  be  to  make  yoti  an  in- 
dividual and  to  consider  you  as  still  belong- 
ing  to  yourself.  But  you  have  given  your- 
self to  be  nothing  and  to  belong  only  to 
Our  Lord,  who  alone  deserves  to  be.  Hence, 
praise  to  Him  alone!  The  soldiers  gain  the 
victory  in  a  battle,  but  the  general  alone 
has  the  glory  and  the  triumph. 


THE    EUCHARISTIC    VOCATION,  223 

One  day  we  shall  be  well  recompensed 
for  all  that  we  have  done.  While  awaiting 
that  day,  let  us  busy  ourselves  with  serving. 
Oh,  how  often  one  takes  back  the  gift  of 
self  by  his  negligence,  impatience,  his  seeking 
after  satisfaction,  approbation,  or  something 
of  the  kind!  That  shows  how  difficult  it  is 
to  give  up  self  entirely. 

In  other  Orders,  they  cultivate  the  gifts  of 
a  religious,  and  aim  at  making  him  produce 
as  much  as  he  can.-  He  becomes  a  distin- 
guished savant,  a  great  orator.  They  bring 
him  forward  as  much  as  possible,  they  exalt 
his  success,  they  make  him  a  kind  of  flag- 
bearer  of  the  combat  of  truth  and  religion 
against  error.  They  make  use  of  him  to  say 
to  the  impious  and  the  unbelieving:  "See, 
what  religion  can  make  a  man!  You  will 
never  come  up  to  him!  " 

That's  all  right!  They  are  the  great  men 
of  the  Church.  But  we  must  never  pretend 
to  that,  never  cultivate  a  subject  in  order  to 
make  of  him  a  conspicuous  individual.  To 
wish  to  make  great  men  before  the  living 
God!    To  say  to  some  one  that  he  is  holy 


224  THE  EUCHARISTIC   VOCATION. 

before  the  Holy  of  Holies!  Imagine  it!  No. 
no,  let  the  savants,  the  geniuses,  and  the 
saints  abase  themselves  before  Our  Lord. 
Let  them  disappear  as  do  the  stars  when 
the  sun  rises.  Although  their  fires  be  not 
extinct,  but  eclipsed  by  the  brilliancy  of  the 
sun,  they  can  no  longer  be  distinguished. 
Well,  it  is  the  same  in  this  case.  We  ought 
to  see  only  Our  Lord,  show  only  Him,  never 
a  man,  were  he  a  prodigy  of  learning,  elo- 
quence, and  sanctity.  Let  him  in  the  pres- 
ence of  Our  Lord  annihilate  all  these  great 
gifts.  His  sacrifice  will  be  all  the  better  for 
it.  Let  him  never  expose  himself  to  drawing 
on  himself  the  notice,  the  attention,  the. 
respect  due  only  to  his  Master  and  King. 
Behold  the  Eucharistic  yocation,  the  So- 
ciety of  the  Most  Blessed  Sacrament  with  its 
end,  its  spirit,  and  its  conditions.  It  is  and 
it  wishes  to  exist  only  for  the  service  of  the 
Person  of  Our  Lord.  It  consecrates  to  Him 
all  that  it  has,  all  that  it  is,  its  children  and 
all  that  they  are.  It  wants  to  gain  nothing 
either,  for  itself  or  for-  others,  for  it  is  so 
little  in  comparison  with  what  its  great  K'ng 


THE    EUCHARISTIC    VOCATION. 


225 


deserves!  May  it  at  least  hear  Him  say:  "I 
am  satisfied.  Here  are  men  who  adore  Me, 
love  Me,  and  serve' Me  for  Myself  alone  I" 


^ 


The  RENUNCIATION 


Of   ALL    OWNERSHIP. 


r  any  man  will  follow  Me   let  liini  deny 
himself  and  sell  all  that  he  possesses.  " 

I.  -Thus  does  Our  Lord  lay  down  the 
first  condition  of  the  religious  life:  renuncia- 
tion, the  Cross,  death.  Because  He  has  else- 
where promised  the  hundredfold  to  those  that 
have  left  all  to  follow  Him,  it  must  not  be 
imagined  that  religion  affords  natural  happi- 
ness, and  that  people  may  enter  it  to  find  rest 
in  the  present  life.  Poor  people!  Looking 
at  it  in  the  natural  light,  such  persons  are 
more  unhappy  in  religion  than  they  would 
be  in  the  world. 

In  the  world,  they  have  only  the  law  to 
practise;  here  they  have  the  counsels,  as 
well  as  the  law.  In  the  world,  they  might 
have  enjoyed  domestic  life,  surrounded  them- 
se'h'es  with  a  family,  built  up  a  future  ac- 
cording to  their  tastes,  indulged  in  lawful 
pleasures ;  but  here  there  is  nothing  of  that 
They  cannot   even  enjoy  the  good  they  do 


RENUNCIATION    OF    ALL    OWNERSHIP.    227 

The  truth  is,  that,  when  one  becomes  a 
religious,  he  takes  up  a  cross  which  hf!  must 
carry  till  the  end  of  his  life. 

No,  human  happmess  is  not  for  the  re 
ligious.  You  do  not  call  by  that  name  a 
recreation,  a  rest  that  is  granted  you  from 
time  to  time.  That  only  makes  you  feel  more 
keenly  the  privation  that  you  ordmarily  en- 
dure. 

Happiness  in  the  religious  life?  Heavenly, 
yes;  but  human  hapi>iness,— nonsense!  And 
so  there  are  some  who  go  about  sad  and 
discouraged,  saying  that  they  have  made  a 
mistake,  that  they  had  no  idea  things  were 
going  to  be  so  hard.  They  want  happiness 
in    Turkish    fashion. 

Jesus  has  promised  the  hundredfold,  but 
It  is  of  that  interior  joy  which  is  the  fruit 
of  mortification  and  the  Cross,  and  not  the 
hundredfold   of   natural   happiness. 

In  the  world,  one  may  have  a  mixed  happi- 
ness, half-heavenly,  half-human,  but  in  re- 
ligion this  is  not  possible.  There,  on  the 
contrary,  one  can  be  happy  only  by  the 
destruction     of     all    that    m.ikes    up    natural 


228   RENUNCIATION     OF     ALL     OWNERSHIP. 

happiness.     How    many    deceive    themselves! 

The  religious  must  always  renounce  self 
and  what  he  loves,  always  sacrifice  self.  Do 
you  want  to  follow  Jesus  Christ  on  His 
throne?  Follow  Him  in  His  sufferings,  and 
understand  well  that  you  are  going  to  daily 
immolation.  It  is  hard,  but  it  is  so.  It  is 
impossible  to  persevere,  unless  we  excite  in 
ourselves  these  sentiments. 

In  our  vocation,  above  all,  is  this  true. 
It  deprives  us  of  even  the  consolations  of 
zeal,  and  crucifies  us  as  holocausts  at  the 
feet  of  Our  Lord. 

Missionaries  have  a  hundredfold  here  be- 
low. They  enjoy  their  conquests  and  con- 
versions. Nature  and  grace  have  worked 
together  Nature  furnished  the  labor,  and 
grace  made  it  flourish  and  fructify;  and  then, 
too,  they  are  recompensed  by  the  gratitude 
of  souls.  Here  we  are  consumed,  and  no  one 
can  find  even  the  spot  upon  which  we  have 
passed    away. 

And  yet  Jesus  said  to  His  Apostles:  "As 
to  you  who  have  persevered  with  Me  in  My 
tribulations,  behold  I  am  goinpf  to  prepare  a 


RENUNCIATION    OF    ALL    OWNERSHIP.    229 


throne  for  you.  "  He  was  speaking  of  Hib 
eternal  kingdom,  assured  to  those  who  are 
wilHng  to  fulfil  certain  conditions  to  obtain  it. 

The  first  is  to  leave  all  and  to  foUow 
Jesus  empty-handed.  You  must  abandon  your 
riches  and  the  use  of  all  that  you  possess. 
This  is  what  is  done  at  the  profession. 

li  you  have  a  fortune  and  you  want  to  give 
it  to  the  Society  for  the  support  of  Our 
Lord  and  its  members,  do  so,  it  is  well.  But 
it  is  not  demanded  of  you.  You  are  free  to 
give  it  to  whomsoever  you  please. 

The  important  thing  is  that  you  reserve 
nothing,  and  that  you  abandon  yourself  to 
the  Master,  who  will  give  you  all  that  is  nec- 
essary. But  that  costs!  The  priest  loves  so 
much  to  have  his  own  Httle.  things,  his  books, 
to  receive  little  presents,  to  make  for  him- 
self his  little  spiritual  boudoir  1  Here,  noth- 
ing of  all  that  is  permitted  you.  You  can 
receive  nothing.  The  Community  alone  re- 
ceives and  disposes,  and  should  you  appro' 
priate  some  thing,  taking  it  for  yourself, 
reserving  it  for  your  own  exclusive  use,  you 
commit    a    theft,    and    you    fail    in    poverty. 


230   RENUNCIATION     OF     ALL    OWNERSHIP. 

All  that  is  in  your  use  is  but  for  a  time,  and 
if  it  should  be  said  to  you:  'Go  at  once,  " 
you  must  do  so  immediately,  abandonmg 
everything,  without  thinking  of  what  you  leave 
behind. 

One  must  be  poor  in  one's  food.  It  is  true 
that  now  you  have  all  that  you  need,  but 
it  may  happen,  from  one  reason  oi  another, 
that  something  is  wanting  at  table.  If  you 
complain  then,  1  shall  say  to  you.  "Have 
you,  then,  made  a  vow  always  to  eat  two 
dishes  at  your  meals?  Go,  go  back  to  the 
world,  and  eat  your  acorns!" 

Is  not  the  poor  niaji  subjected  to  wait 
lor  his  bread,  which  is  not  always  forth 
coming?  Well,  you  have  made  profession 
of  being  poor.  Be  so  in  reality,  at  least  when 
occasion  offers. 

Alasi  1  am  sure  if  that  happened  to  yoii, 
you  woidd  murmur.  It  will  happen  to  you. 
Be   sure   of   it ! 

If,  for  example,  you  are  traveling  on  a 
Friday,  although  custom  allows  a  traveler  to 
make  use  of  meat  if  he  can  get. nothing 
else,   you,   ui  homage   to   poverty,   would   eat 


RENUNCIATION    OF    ALL    OWNERSHIP.    231 

no  meat,  understand,  and  would  content  your- 
selves with  whatever  you  could  get,  were  il 
only  bread. 

Like  the  poor  of  the  Lord,  religious  have 
a  right  only  to  bread  and  water. 

1  know  that  they  give  reasons  for  being 
treated  comfortably.  Health  is  weaker  than 
It  used  to  be,  one  must  sustain  one's  self 
m  order  to  work,  etc.  But  1  know,  also, 
that  by  such  reasonmg,  they  come  to  puliiug 
sensuality  and  goui"mandizjng  in  the  place 
of  poverty 

What!  jesus  suffered  hunger.  With  tlie 
Apostles,  He  was  reduced  to  crushing  the  cars 
of  corn  in  order  to  strengthen  llimsell  a 
little;  and  we  religious,  we  want  always  to 
have  enough  so  that  nothing  ever  fails! 
What  becomes  of  the  poverty  of  Our  Lord? 

We  should  be  poor  in  our  clothing.  If  we 
look  out  for  what  is  fine  and  beautiful,  w  c 
fail  in  poverty.  The  greatest  scandal  of  poor 
Italy  was  to  see  there  religious  men  vying 
with  "women  m  the  fineness  and  whiteness 
of  their  habits. 

Examine  youisclvcs  well  on  this  point.   I  ine 


•232"    RENUNCIATION      OF     ALL     OWNERSHIP. 

cloth  lasts  longer,  they  say,  and  it  is  eco- 
nomical to  make  use  of  it.  I  tell  you  it  is 
only  pride  in  poverty. 

"  But  they  give  it  to  me,  and  poverty  wills 
that  I  should  receive  it.  "  Ask  permission 
first,  and  then  wear  it  with  reluctance  and 
bhame.  Go  to  Argenteuil  and  there  see  Our 
Lord's  tunic.  Is  that  made  of  fine  cloth?  11 
you  are  a  religious  of  Our  Lord,  adopt  His 
costume. 

Indulge  m  no  illusion.  It  is  very  fine, 
very  eaay  to  say:  "I  am  poor,"  Look  into 
yourself,  and  see  whether  you  are  or  are  not 
poor.  Examine  to  what  you  are  attached, 
and  cast   it  away,   for  it  would  ruin  you. 

ITie  religious  is  like  a  passenger  traveling 
with  all  his  fortune  on  a  ship  well  provided 
with  everything.  A  tempest  arises.  Jesu5 
Christ  is  only  a  few  feet  off  in  a  little  boat 
He  extends  to  you  a  plank  of  rescue,  only 
a  plank,  —  understand?  "Come  to  Me,  but 
leave  all.  Your  baggage  would  capsize  the 
plank,  and  you  and  it  would  be  lost.  • 

Have,  then,  always  before  your  eyes  this 
truth,    that   you   have   left   all,    and  that   you 


RENUNCIATION    OF    ALL    OWNERSHIP.    233 

have  come  here  for  Our  Lord  without  reserve 
or  condition.  Take  nothing  back  neither  for 
the  body  nor  for  the  mind,  for  besides  poverty 
with  regard  to  external  goods,  the  reUgious 
must  renounce  self  in  body,  mind,  and  heart, 
in  order  to  give  all  to  Our  Lord. 

in.  —  Our.  Lord  expects  of  you  this  double 
homage  of  body  and  soul.  Keep  back  the 
gifts  of  the  soul  no  more  than  those  of  the 
body,  if  you  wish  to  be  a  good  and  loyal 
servant. 

He  endows  you  with  intelligence,  and  He 
wants  its  fruits.  Let  all  your  studies  be  for 
Him.  Examine  yourself  well  on  this  subject, 
and  you  will  find  that  you  are  taking  back 
something  every  day.  You  study  for  yourself, 
through  your  natural  attraction  for  such  or 
such  a  subject,  and  yet  the  science  of  the 
Most  Blessed  Sacrament  ought  to  be  yours, 
and  your,  only  science. 

Have  ^you  always  in  view  this  sole  knowl- 
edge of  His  Divine  Person,  of  His  supreme 
service?  No,  and  that  is  because  you  have 
not  given  your  mind  to  it  perfectly. 

'^lave  you  given  your  heart?    Do  you  love 

The  Divine  Eucharist.  ib 


234   RENUNCIATION     OF     ALL     OWNERSHIP. 

Him  alone?  Byt  in  what  degree?  Have  you 
not  other  affections  that  thwart  the  former? 
Examine  whence  come  your  thoughts,  whether 
they  are  habitually  fixed  on  Our  Lord,  His 
love,  His  adorable  Presence.  We  think  on 
what  we  love.  Where  your  thought  is, 
thither    your   heart    turns. 

If  you  love  Our  Lord  alone  and  above 
all  else,  you  will  ^hink  of  nothing  but  Him, 
you  will  study  Him  with  ardor,  and  you  will 
end  by  understanding  Him.  It  was  the  love 
of  the  saints  that  made  them  conceive 
thoughts  so  noble,  and  the  most  loving  were 
the  most  learned.  God  is  -light,  because  He 
is  love. 

Well,  now,  your  heart  —  is  it  all  for  the 
Most  Blessed  Sacrament?  Have  you  nothing 
opposed  to  Its  service,  nothing  outside  of  it'? 
There  is  the  touchstone. 

Let  your  body,  also,  be  entirely  for  the 
service  of  Our  Lord.  This  is  absolutely  nec- 
essar>',  if  you  want  wholly  to  give  yourself. 
6aint  Teresa  says  that,  as  long  as  we  have 
not  abandoned  to  God  our  health,  we  have 
not   yet  given   Him   anything.    She   is   right. 


RENUNCIATION    OF    ALL    OWNERSHIP.    235 

In  the  order  of  health,  what  appears  the 
least  perfect  is  often  the  most  difficult  and 
becomes  the  occasion  of  holiness. 

If  you  say :  "  I  want  to  give  my  mind  first  " 
that  is  sloth.  First  give  your  body;  you  will 
give  your  mind  afterward.  That  costs  more, 
because  wc  are  essentially  corporeal  and  sunk 
m  the  senses. 

In  practice,  the  ego  is  the  body,  the  natural, 
the  sensual,  much  more  than  is  the  mind. 
Our  mind,  shut  up  in  the  flesh,  seems  to  be- 
come itself  flesh.  Give,  then,  first  the  body, 
which  so  entirely  absorbs  your  attention. 

Some  there  are  who  wish  to  serve  Our  Lord 
only  on  condition  of  being  better  treated 
than  they  were  in  the  world.  Oh,  how  many 
there  are  who  demand  of  religion  only  its 
advantages,  who  enter  it  only  to  make  sure 
of  their  bread,  to  find  m  it  a  resource,  a 
commodious  shelter!  Religious  nobodies! 
Garibaldi  might  have  recruited  his  ranks  from 
them,  for  they  are  robbers  in  the  sanctuary, 
and  God  could  say  to  them :  "  You  have  con- 
sidered Me  of  less  account  than  your  body!  " 

Let  us  examine  ourselves  well  on  th'<='  point. 


236   RENUNCIATION     OF     ALL     OWNERSHIP. 

There    is   something   to    do    here    for    sure! 

Behold  the  total  gift,  behold  renunciation. 
The  vow  of  poverty  extends  to  our  \vhol# 
being.  To  pause  on  exterior  things,  is  not 
to  comprehend  the  mind.  Poverty  conse- 
crates the  whole  religious.  If  we  do  not  give 
ourselves  entirely,  we  enter  not  into  the 
virtue  of  poverty.  It  is  easy  to  say:  "My 
God.  1  give  Thee  all,  "  but  it  is  not  so  easy 
to   do  so. 

Come,  then,  reflect,  reason  out  your  duly. 
Know  well  what  you  should  do  and  to  whom 
you  have  engaged  yourself.  Always  rise  to 
the  iirimuni  mobile  of  your  life,  that  is.  to  your 
good  will  and  intenticHi.  Let  the  lo\  e  of  God 
ever   combat  your   self-love. 

Whene\-cr  you  possess  more  than  Jesus 
Christ,   correct  yourself. 

Vou  have  made  a  vow  always  to  advance. 
Flinch  not,  look  neither  to  the  right  nor  to 
the  left.  Behind  you  are  the  bayonets  of 
God's  justice;  to  right  and  left,  ate  the  prec- 
ipices of  hell!  Act  through  principle,  for 
that  enduies;  sentiment,  on  the  contrary, 
gleams  and   dies   out. 


RENUNCIATION    OF    ALL    OWNERSHIP.    237 

Some  are  seen  entering  religion  flushed  with 
joy,  speaking  only  of  the  happiness  of  the  re- 
ligious life,  of  their  delight  to  enter.  In  gen- 
eral, count  little  on  them.  They  are  caught 
by  the  heart  like  children.  Theirs  is  a  sudden 
blaze,  which  has  no  fuel 

But  when  some  one  presents  himself, 
saying:  "  I  am  come  to  immolate  myself 
daily  for  God  by  renunciation.  Up  to  this 
day,  I  have  been  bad  enough,  but  I  will  now 
be  a  victim  of  propitiation  for  my  own  sins,  " 
Ahf  here  is  a.  true  vocation! 

Go  on,  then,  through  conviction,  through 
an  unshaken  and  evident  persuasion  that  it 
is  your  duty  and  the  will  of  God.  Say  to 
yourself  that  your  happiness  itself  lies  in  so 
doing. 

You  can  no  longer  shrink.  In  the  world, 
you  would  drag  your  vows  like  the  chain  and 
ball  of  a  galley-slave,  and  if  you  live  a 
tepid  life  in  religion,  you  wUl  be  in  a  true 
hell.  You  will  do  as  much  as  others,  but 
without  profit.  To  do  good  outwardly,  to 
condemn  one's  self  to  a  life  of  rule  and 
constraint    without   experiencing   any   interior 


238   RENUNCIATION     OF     ALL     OWNERSHIP. 

satisfaction;  to  be  even  punished  at  every 
instant  by  remorse,  fear,  and  agony  of  con' 
science,  —  but  that  would  not  be  supportable! 
Peace  of  conscience,  at  least,  is  necessary. 

If  it  costs  to  do  good,  it  costs  ven'  much 
more  not  to  do  it  while  appearing  to  do  it. 
It  is  impossible  to  lead  the  life  of  a  saint 
and   yet   be  a   demon   interiorly. 

Give  yourselves,  then,  entirely  and  in  all 
truth,  and  let  it  be  through  reason  and  con- 
viction. If  your  body  complains,  show  it  what 
it  gains  by  doing  well,  since  it  has  to  lead 
the  same  life  as  the  others  even  if  it  does 
not  wish  it. 

As  for  your  mind,  —  show  it  how  noble  it 
is,  how  good  and  great  to  serve  Our  X^ord. 
Show  it  good  in  itself,  and  that  it  should 
not  be  through  interest,  but  for  love,  that 
it    devotes   itself,   and   then   act   accordingly. 


<^^-¥0^r<^ 


SIN,  the  INJURY  DONE 


to  GOD. 


^W^^*^^*^^*!^'^*^«K  SS^'M 


HAT  is  most  displeasing  to  God  on  earth 
land  in  us,  is  sin.  This  truth  must  be 
attentively  considered.  The.  just,  and  the 
saints  theinselves,  are  not  exempt  from  sin. 
And  we,  have  we  not  on  our  conscience, 
perhaps,  at  least  some  venial  sins?  Have 
we   never  had  to   weep   over  mortal   sins? 

There  is  but  one  evil  on  earth,  but  one 
thing  to  dread,  and  that  is  sin.  All  creation 
pleases  God,  even  those  beings  which  to  us 
appea.r  hurtful.  Neither  the  worm  nor  the 
mire  of  the  earth  offends  God's  sight,  for 
those  thmgs  are  in  their  natural  state.  Sin, 
on  the  contrary,. is  a  peiversion  of  the  divine 
will,  a  degrading  of  His  work,  a  contradic- 
tion of  His  nature -and  oC  His  divine  Being. 
Sin  tends  to  annihilate  God,  for  it  denies 
and  attacks  His  attributes.  Now,  those  at 
tributes   are  His    nature    itself. 

Let     us     now     consider    this    frightful    evil 
against  God. 


240  SIN,   INJURY  DONE  TO  GOD. 

I.  —  Sin  is  an  offence,  an  insult  offered 
to  the  sovereign  Authority  of  God.  to  His 
majesty,  to  His  empire.  It  is  the  creature 
insuhing  his   Creator. 

People  easily  think  that  sin  is  not  so  greatly 
opposed  to  God,  does  not  effect  Him  so 
much,  since  He  does  not  show  Himself  angry, 
does  not  chastise  the  offence  immediately. 
And  yet  what  more  serious  than  to  fail  in 
respect  to  a  superior?  Want  of  respect  to 
others  ia  in  society  the  cause  of  hatred,  duels, 
wars.    It  is  a  crime. 

Not  to  give  to  one's  superior  in  the  world 
the  place  and  the  marks  of  honor  due.  him, 
is  to  despise  him.  And  truly,  men  are  very 
watchful  on  these  points.  They  are  things 
that  are  not  allowed  to  pass.  They  are  inex- 
cusable. People  always  suppose  you  have  re- 
ceived education  enough  to  respect  others, 
and  they  reject  from  society  the  badly 
reared.  They  despise  them,  they  do  not  even 
look  at  them. 

Well,  then,  does  God  desen^e  to  be  treated 
uncinlly?  Is  He  not  the  Lord  of  Lords,  the 
King   of   Kings,    He  to   whom   everything  in 


SIN,   INJURY  DONE  TO   GOD.  241 

heaven  and  on  earth  is  subject,  whom  the 
elements  obey,  whom  the  angels  regard  with 
trembling,  and  for  whom  His  desires  are 
orders  ? 

Animals,  plants,  inanimate  beings,  recognize 
God's  dominion  and  obey  Him.  It  is  without 
sentiment,  indeed,  but  their  obedience  is  no 
less  homage  to  His  authority  which  governs 
them. 

The  smner  alone  dares  despise  divine  au- 
thority. God  lays  down  laws.  He  threatens, 
He  punishes  transgressors..  The  sinner  mocks 
at  God,  at  His  threats,  at  His  chastisements. 

You  have  not  done  so  in  this  sentiment. 
That  is  possible,  but  your  actions  have  done 
so.  And  if  you  do  not  insult  Him  directly 
and  to  His  face,  you  despise  Him  by  your 
indifference  and  forgetfulness.  ♦The  sin  is  not 
less. 

Pay  strict  attention  I  At  the  judgment,  God 
will  know  very  well  how  to  show  you  your  acts 
of  contempt  He  will  say  to  you:  "  You  obey- 
ed  men.  Am  I  of  less  value  than  a  man? 
You  respected  a  creature,  and  kept  your 
insults  for  your  Creator.    Was  it  this  that  I 


242  SIX,    INJURY   DONE  TO   GOD. 

deserved?  "    And  you  will  not  know  what  to 

answer  to  irritated  Justice  whose  light  will 
place  clearly  before  your  eyes  all  the  horror 
of  sin.  its  incalculable  consequences,  and  your 
own   most   secret   intentions. 

But  so  many  others  offend  God  I  —  You  are, 
then,  willing-  to  damn  yourself  witli  them? 
And  you  will  offend  God,  because  He  does 
not   at    once   punish    those    that   insult    Him? 

And  we,  we  sin  before  the  face  of  God, 
in  the  Presence  of  Jesus  Christ  in  the  Blessed 
Sacrament,  of  Jesus  Christ  living  there  His 
life  of  the  Man-God!  We  do  as  the  abom- 
inable executioners  who  insulted  Him  to 
His  face  on  Calvar>l  The  executioners  of 
the  praetorium,  at  least,  veiled  His  face  be- 
fore insulting  Him.  They  dared  not  do  so 
under  His  gc^e!  And  we,  through  sloth, 
through  negligence,  and  other  reasons,  com- 
mit under  His  eyes  faults  that  are  real  sac- 
rileges, venial,  if  you  choose,  but  sacrileges 
all  the  same. 

Oh,  if  we  had  a  little  refinement  of  soul, 
never  would  we  offend  the  good  God!  There 
is  no  need  to  be  scrupulous  in  order  to  avoid 


SIN,   INJURY  DONE  TO  GOD.  243 

even  the  appearances  of  sin.  The  scrupulous 
man  is  he  who  is  always  in  the  state  of 
half-consent.  It  is  sufficient  to  be  of  a 
sensitive  conscience.  When  we  esteem,  we 
do  not  insult 

But  men  we  see.  We  think  not  of  God 
because  we  do  not  see  Him.  Have  you,  then. 
no  faith?  Faith  is  a  real  sight,  which  cer- 
tifies to  us  the  things  of  God  more  plainly 
than   our   eyes   show   us   exterior   objects. 

We  see  by  the  eyes  of  faith  as  by  the 
intelligence.  Do  you  see  the  relations  of  the 
sciences,  the  laws  of  niunber?  And  yet  you 
believe  them.  Why  do  you  not  believe  in  God  ■* 

Our  greatest  evil  is  sloth,  negligence,  for 
getfulness,  and  discouragement.  That  shows 
our  little  faith,  respect,  and  love.  We  want 
what  gives  us  pleasure,  and  we  refuse  what 
contradicts  us 

How  often,  also,  have  we  been  restrained 
by  human  respect!  We  have  left  God  for 
men,  and  transgressed  His  law  through  fear 
of  what  they  might  say.  What  contempt 
or  what  indifference!  And  it  is  God  whom 
we  treat  thusf 


244  SIN,   INJURY  DONE  TO  GOD. 

II,  —  Sin  is  opposed  to  God's  sanctity, 
which  is  His  nature.  God  is  essentially  holy. 
Sanctity  is  the  first  of  His  attributes.  It  is 
all  that  is  good,  beautiful,  and  true;  and  it 
IS  against  it  that  sin  rises  up. 

We  sully  the  divine  sanctity  in  ourselves, 
for  this  sanctity  dwells  in  us.  We  received 
an  emanation  of  it  in  Baptism,  which  renders 
us  holy  and  like  unto  God  by  sanctifying* 
grace.  We  sully  this  divine  image.  Our  soul 
is  from  God,  our  body  the  temple  of  the 
Holy  Spirit.  We  are  the  members  of  Jesus 
Christ.  We  profane  His  body,  we  plunge 
Jesus  Christ  and  the  white  robe  of  holiness 
and  justice  He  has  given  us  into  a  filthy 
pool,  we  deliver  Him  to  the  demon. 

Sin  is  infectious.  It  is  corruption,  putrid 
dissolution.  It  turns  our  soul  into  a  horrible 
corpse,  above  all,  sins  of  sensuality,  and  we 
appear  before  God  in  that  state  1  With  what 
horroi  we  must  inspire  Him.  as  well  as  the 
angels  and  the  saints,  for  they  all  see  us! 

Saint  Paul  tells  us:  "To  show  forth  the 
good  odor  of  Jesus  Christ,  "  and  we  spread 
an   infectious  odor.    There  have  been  saints 


SIN,   INJURY   DONE  TO   GOD.  245 

who  recognized  sinners  by  their  odor.  Ah! 
if  our  sins  spread  around  their  natural  odor 
so  that  others  perceived  it  and  told  us  of  it, 
what  shame!  We  would  not  dare  to  show 
ourselves,  we  could  not  bear  ourselves  1  They 
say  of  Antiochus  that  the  wound  inflicted  on 
hini  in  punishment  of  his  pride  was  so  in 
fectious  that  it  filled  his  army  with  pestilence. 
Behold  the  exhalation  of  our  sins! 

We  sully  the  sanctity  of  God  in  our  body 
and  in  our  soul  by  sin.  How  can  God  enter 
a  soul  in  which  sin  dwells?  How  can  He 
'set  foot  in  it?  And  yet  we  force  Him  to  come 
into  this  impure  cesspool.  Oh,  of  what  arc 
we  thinking! 

As  for  sms  of  human  weakness,  they  arc 
only  dust,  and  God  does  not  hold  m  horror 
this  dust  inherent  to  our  misery  But  sin& 
of  the  will,  6f  affection,  of  habit  I 

It  would  be  better  not  to  receive  the  body 
of  Our  Lord  than  to  take  It  into  our  heart, 
if  stained  with  habitual  sins.  He  enters  but 
with  disgust.  We  do  violence  to  Him.  He 
is  bound,  and  He  obeys  us.  But  at  the  hour 
of  death,   we  shall  see  His  vengeance!    His 


246  SIN,   INJURY  DONE  TO  GOD. 

voice  will  be  terrible:  "How  didst  thou  dare 
to  receive  Me  into  thy  body  sullied  with 
abomination!  " 

We  presume  to  take  our  filthy  corruption 
even  to  the  Body  of  Jesus  Christ  to  befoul  It, 
for  those  Species  that  we  touch,  are  Jesus 
Christ  Himself.  They  are  inseparably  united 
to  Him.  The  Church  wills  that  we  adore 
them  with  the  same  worship  of  latria  as  His 
own  visible  Body  It  is,  then,  He  whom  we 
sully  by  our  abominable  contact! 

But  the  sin  in  our  soul  rebounds  upon  the 
Most  Holy  Trinity  Itself,  which  dw^ells  therein, 
and  which  is  sullied  by  its  fetidness;  for  the 
Holy  Trinity,  Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Spirit, 
come  into  us  substantially  and  really  when  we 
communicate;  so  that  all  that  is  sacred,  God, 
the  three  Divine  Persons,  Jesus  Chrii,t,  are 
all   attacked   by   sin. 

Oh,  how  God  bears  with  such  thmgs!  If 
He  punished  at  once,  we  would  be  constantly 
beaten  with  rods  like  Heliodorus  at  the  gate 
of  the  Temple.  His  goodness  puts  up  with 
us,  but  is  goodness  a  reason  for  being  in- 
sulted? 


SIN,   INJURY  DONE  TO   COt).  2M 

I  know  not  of  what  we  are  thinking,  but 
enraged  against  self,  one  is  forced  "to  exclaim: 
"do  not  treat  God  as  men  treat  their  lowest 
domestics!  " 

"I  did  not  think  of  that."  You  arc  bound 
to  think  of  it.  It  is.  not  lawful  to  commit 
crimes,  in  order  to  distract  one's  self.  He 
who  has  gone  so  far  as  to  forget  duties  so 
essential  as  the  respect  due  to  the  sanctity 
of  God,  is  more  culpable  than  he  who  offends 
Him  through  the  seduction  of  passion. 

Oh,  the  divine  sanctity  will  have  its  re- 
venge 1  It  will  provoke  the  arm  of  justice,  for 
God  cannot  consent  to  our  profaning  Him 
in  this  way.  It  is  a  fearful  thing  to  say,  but 
we  make  God  serve  us  in  our  iniquities,  and 
it  is  of  that  He  complains.  "  Scruirc  mc 
fecisti  in  peccaiis  tuis."  Wo  cannot  make  a- 
movement  in  which  God  does  not  cooperate, 
in  which  we  do  not  force  Him  to  make  an 
actual  act  of  the  will.  We  thus  turn  the 
power  and  the  life  that  He  gives  us  against 
His  own  designs,  and  what  was  good  when 
emanating  from  Him,  we  render  bad.  This 
is .  doing  violence  to   Him.    He   will  avenge 


248  SIN,   INJURY  DONE  TO  GOD. 

Himself  eternally,  for  He  will  have  His  day! 

HI.  —  Lastly,  sin  is  an  injury  offered  to  the 
goodness  of  God,  an  abominable  ingratitude. 
How  is  it  possible  that,  living  on  His  bounty 
and  mercy,   we  go  on  offending   Him? 

God  is  so  good  that,  if  He  cxDuld  die  agani 
for  us,  He  would  do  so.  And  because  He  is 
-good,  we  offend  Him! 

He  does  not  want  to  damn  us  at  once. 
Well,  then,  we  will  sin  another  time! 

Oh,  when  we  think  of  these  things,  we 
say:  "I  am  the  abomination  of  creatures." 
Ah,  yeS;  to  be  surel  And  as  sin  is  measured 
by  the  graces  and  favors  received  from  the 
divine  bounty,  judge  of  the  enormity  of  our  sins. 

Men  are  more  offended  at  the  coldness 
of  a  friend  than  at  the  outrages  of  an  enemy. 
How  little  considerate  are  we  toward  the  best 
of  friends! 

We.  at  least,  hide  ourselves  when  offendmg 
Him.  Not  at  all!  We  sm  under  His  Encha- 
ristic  gaze.  We  offend  Him  at  His  very  feet 
while  in  adoration!  Oh,  what  shall  we  do? 
Conceive  horror  for  self,  looking  upon  self 
as   an  abortion,   a   wretch. 


SIN,  INJURY  DONE  TO  GOD.  249 

Nevertheless,  God  keeps  on  treating  me  as 
a  friend.  That  proves  how  very  good  He  is. 
But  you,  if  I  should  tell  you  that  all  sins 
flourished  in  your  soul,  if  I  could  unveil  it 
and  show  you  to  the  eyes  of  all  such  as 
you  are  in  the  eyes  of  God,  what  would  y6u 
say  ?  You  would  blush  with  shame,  you  would 
want  to  hide  yourself  under  the  earth.  Ah, 
well,  blush,  for  God  sees  you!  Oh,  shun  sin, 
above  all  things,  sin  no  morel  Men  forgive 
a  child  for  not  helping  its  parents,  for  not 
knowing  how  to  do  anything ;  but  they  never 
forgive  it  for  insulting  them. 

Start,  at  least,  from  this  principle  of  good 
sense,  that  you  should  not  do  to  God  what 
you  would  not  have  a  man  do  to  you. 

Have,  at  least,  as  much^onor  as  the  soldier 
who  wants  to  pass  his  time  without  punish- 
ment, only  that  he  may  be  able  to  say :  "  1 
never  was  punished. "  Shall  we  not  have 
that  last  sentiment  of  honor,  and  shall  we  not 
pass  one  day  without  sin?  Oh,  it  would  be 
too  badl 

I  heg  of  you,  do  not  offend  the  good  God 
any  more.    Be  more  or  less  humble,  patient, 

The  Divine  Eucharist.  x? 


250 


SIN,   INJURY  DONE  TO  GOD. 


mortified;  perform  the  most  beautiful  actions, 
or  do  nothing  at  all.  I  can  pass  over  your 
not  having  virtues,  but  at  least,  I  entreat  you, 
no  sin,  no  sin! 


^4&*&4&^«&^*&3i&»&^4&4&^*&ji&«&«&*2&4&^ 


The  EFFECTS  of  VENIAL  SIN. 


^ 

JT  is  very  certain  that  the  love  of  God 
supplies  for  everything,  suffices  for 
everything".  But  when  it  does  not  purify  from 
sin,  it  is  not  true,  or  not  yet  very  strong. 
The  first  effect  of  love  is  to  purify. 

For  this  reason,  we  must  go  on  examining 
sin,  its  fatal  consequences,  to  awaken  horror 
for  it. 

Whence  comes  it  that  we  have  so  little 
horror  for  sin,  that  we  remain  in  it  without 
fear,  that  we  know  of  its  being  in  us,  and 
yet  take  no  care  to  shun  it  or  to  correct 
ourselves?  It  comes  from  bad  will  or  neg 
ligence.  from  want  of  delicacy  of  conscience, 
or  from  our  little  love  of  God. 

If  men  did  for  the  good  God  and  for  their 
soul  what  they  do  to  succeed  in  business 
affairs  or  in  any  other  state  in  which  they 
are,  they  would  soon  become  saints.  God  has 
to  pay  us  for  what  we  do  for  Him  and  for 
the  care  we  take  of  our  soul,  but  He  is 
badly  served  in  spite  of  thatl 

Some  say :  "  But  what  is  it,  after  all,  but  a 


252  EFFECTS    OF    VENIAL    SIN. 

venial  sin?  It  is  only  a  little  fault  which 
does  not  kill  the  soul.  "  And  on  the  score  of 
venial  sin,  they  no  longer  disquiet  themselves. 
Oh,  what  purgatory  will  teach  us  I  But  now, 
see  what  are  the  effects  of  venial  sin,  and 
you  will  comprehend  how  much  you  ought 
to  shun  it. 

I  am  not  speaking  of  those  faults  of  weak- 
ness and  frailty,  against  which  we  are  on  our 
guard,  which  we  commit  only  through  sur- 
prise, and  of  which  we  get  rid  at  once  as 
soon  as  committed,  but  of  the  affection  to 
venial  sin,  which  makes  one  commit  it  easily, 
little  sensitive  to  the  wrong  that  he  does, 
taking  no  care  not  to  expose  himself  to  it 
agam  in  a  word,  I  am  speaking  of  venial 
sin  which  is  committed  through  affection  and 
which  has  become  habitual. 

I.  —  Venial  sin  paralyzes  God's  power  over 
our  soul.  When  God  encounters  venial  sin 
on  His  way  to  the  soul,  His  power  is  arrested, 
it  can  do  nothing. 

In  the  other  world,  justice  is  indemnified 
without  needing  the  consent  of  the  culpable. 
But  here  below,  liberty  is  always  granted  us. 


EFFECTS    OF    VENIAL    SIN.  253 

God  can  do  in  us  only  what  we  consent  to 
allow  Him  to  do,  and  the  perverse  will  of 
man,  in  repulsing  God's  power,  is  stronger 
than  Gods  will.  Yes,  indeed!  God  can  do 
nothing  with  one  whose  conscience  is  taken 
up  by  an  affection  to  venial  sin.  It  is  im- 
possible for  Him  to  unite  His  power  with 
ours,  His  action  to  ours.  Sin  is  by  its  very 
nature,  a  turning  away  from  God,  It  consti- 
tutes an  opposition  between  essence  and 
essence,  between  nature  and  nature.  What 
would  you  have  God  do?  He  cannot  destroy 
us.  He  has  given  us  a  certain  time  to  live 
and  to  enjoy  our  liberty,  and  He  respects 
that   decree. 

Venial  sin  arrests  the  course  of  God's  good- 
ness. Grace  is  the  effusion  of  the  divine 
goodness.  Now,  God  is  absolutely  unable 
to  give  His  grace  to  one  who  says  by  act: 
"  I  do  not  want  it.  "  He  cannot  render  good 
an  act  bad  by  nature.  Venial  sin  is  refusal 
opposed  to  the  grace  that  solicits.  It  annuls 
its  action.  God,  not  being  able  to  force  the 
door  of  the  heart,  withdraws.  He  does  not 
violently    force    an    entrance.    The    Scripture 


254  EFFECTS    OF    VENIAL    SIN. 

SO  often  shows  Him  present  to  the  soul  as 
a  friend  demanding  entrance  with  His  graces, 
supplicating  Israel  to  hear  Him.  Our  Lord, 
also,  during  His  life  asked  men  to  receive 
Him  well.  They  would  not,  and  He  was 
obliged  to  retire. 

I  am  speaking  only  of  venial  sin  which,  not 
entirely  destroying  the  state  of  grace  paral- 
yzes its  action.  It  is  not  opposed  to  the  habit 
of   charity,    but   to   its   efficacy   and   its  acts 

Venial  sin  is  opposed  to  actual  grace,  so 
necessary  to  him  who  would  act  supernat- 
urally  that  without  it  we  can  absolutely  do 
nothing  for  salvation.  Actual  grace  is  a  Jight, 
an  inspiration.  It  is  the  action  of  Jesus  Christ 
and  His  Spirit  in  us.  Now,  venial  sin  destroys 
or  hinders  its  effects.  It  obscures  the  soul, 
it  limits  its  gaze,  it  envelope  it  in  darkness. 
The  light  of  grace  presents  itself  incessantly 
to  enlighten  our  intelligence,  to  show  it 
supernatural  motives,  the  divine  good;  but 
if  we  close  the  entrance,  it  cannot  penetrate. 
This  sun  of  love  will  light  up  the  stone  of 
our  tomb,  while  we  ourselves  remain  buried 
in  darkness. 


EFFECTS    OF    VENIAL    SIN.  255 

In  this  Venial  sin  corresponds  to  a  secret 
instinct  of  our  fallen  nature.  Man  fears  God's 
light  more  than  His  goodness  itself.  Light 
remains,  it  stays.  The  Jews  did  not  want 
even  to  listen  to  Jesus  Christ,  and  they  stoned 
Him  when  He  wished  to  tell  them  the  truth. 
So  some  do  not  want  to  listen,  to  a  beggar 
relating  his  misery.  They  give  him  an  alms 
at  once  in  order  not  to  have  to  look  upon 
what  might  too  deeply  touch  them.  And  so 
we,  too,  do  not  like  to  see  ourselves,  nor  to 
see  God  and  His  will  and  what  He  demands. 
But  the  light  that  we  reject  accuses  us,  and 
this  so  much  the  more  as  it  is  greater.  What 
will  it  be  for  us  who  live  in  the  darkness  of 
sin  before  the  brilliant  light  of  the  Eucharist? 
We  can,  indeed,  say  that  we  sin  in  the 
light.  Our  sins  are  all  the  more  serious, 
and  we  shall  be  punished  more  severely. 

Grace  is,  also,  a  vivifying  heat  by  which 
God  desires  to  touch  our  will,  exciting  it 
sweetly  in  order  to  bend  it  to  what  He  is 
demanding  of  us.  But  sin  is  the  cold,  the  icy 
coldness  of  the  tomb.  It  prevents  the  divine 
heat  irom  penetrating  to  our  heart,  for  fear 


256  EFFECTS     OF    VENIAL    SIN. 

of  our  being  awakened  from  our  torpor. 
And  yet  the  heat  emanating  from  the  Blessed 
Sacrament  is  so  powerful,  so  sweet,  so  be- 
neficent! There  is  the  furnace  of  the  living 
Heart  of  Jesus  Christ.  But  sin  makes  us 
flee  from  it.  If  we  feel  that  Our  Lord  is 
presenting  to  us  His  Heart  in  order  to  gain 
our  lore,  we  flee.  We  are  afraid  of  His 
saying  to  us:  "I  love  thee!"  for  we  should 
then  bi  obliged  to  respond:  "And  I,  also!" 
They  say  it,  indeed,  on  the  tip  of  the  lips 
and  while  retreating,  but  they  do  not  want 
to  be  taken  at  their  word.  When  an  enemy 
allows  himself  to  be  embraced  he  is  disarm- 
ed, he  becomes  a  friend.  It  would  be  the 
same  with  us,  but  we  fear  the  duties  of 
friendship. 

Grace  is,  again,  the  action  of  the  Holy 
Spirit  by  which  He  renews  and  continues  in 
us  the  life  of  Jesus  Christ.  He  says  to  us: 
"  Take  My  grace,  and  perform  this  good  ac- 
tion, make  this  sacrifice,  labor  with  Me. 
I  will  supply  the  funds  and  the  means,  you 
shall  have  the  merit  and  the  fruit.  "  But 
sin   prevents   our  accepting   this   loving  pro- 


EFFECTS    OF    VENIAL    SIN.  257 

posal,  it  rejects  it,  and  this  contract  of  com- 
panionship becomes  impossible,  for  Our  Lord 
cannot  join  His  action  to  sin,  which  is  op- 
posed to  Him.  So  venial  sin  is  the  destruc- 
tion of  actual  grace,  preventing  and  de- 
stroying its  action.  It  binds  Jesus  Christ  at 
the  gate  of  the  soul.  Little  by  little,  it 
ruins  sanctifying  grace  which,  like  stagnant 
water,  becomes  corrupt,  because  no  living 
source  feeds  it,   no  movement  purifies  it. 

Venial  sin  destroys  the  glory  that  we  ought 
to  render  to  God  by  our  actions. 

God  is  the  Owner  and  Master  of  our  life, 
and  we  are  His  tenants  and  servants.  He 
intrusts  to  us  talents  tO'  be  put  out  at  interest. 
It  is  a  rigorous  obligation  for  us  to  procure 
His  glory  on  earth.  Recall  how  the  servant 
who  neglected,  who  buried  his  talent,  was 
punished. 

By  sin  we  cease  to  recognize  God  as  our 
Master  to  whom  we  owe  everything.  We  take 
His  place,  and  we  act  for  ourselves.  What 
glory  remains  for  Him  from  actions  per- 
formed through  self-love?  Sin  destroys  all 
that   could  elevate   toward   Him   and   glorify 


258  EFFECTS    OF    VENIAL    SIN. 

Him.  It  annihilates  God's  glory  in  His  crea- 
tures. Behold  the  conflict  mortal  sin  wages 
against  God  and  His  attributes! 

n.  —  Considered,  besides,  in  its  effects  on 
us,  how  sad  is  venial  sin  I  See  what  it  4id 
in  the  Apostles.  For  three  years  they  had 
lived  with  Our  Lord,  seeing  Him,  listening 
to  Him,  rejoicing  in  His  miracles  and  in  His 
particular  and  private  explanations.  Did  they 
profit  by  them?  Not  at  all.  They  did  not 
even  go  so  far  as  to  correct  themselves  of 
their  defects.  Their  ambition,  their  jealousy, 
their  self-love  still  domineered  them.  What, 
then,  was  the  obstacle?  Venial  sin,  for  the 
Gospel  records  their  faults,  and  they  were 
but  venial  faults,  only  venial  faults.  But  see, 
whither  they  conducted.  Behold  them  fleeing 
from  the  Garden  of  OKves,  and  Peter  denying 
his  Master.  Judas,  also,  had  lived  with  Our 
Lord,  and  his  infidelity  began  with  only 
small  faults  of  cupidity. 

I  assure  you,  one  may,  in  fact,  live  in  the 
holiest  vocation,  may  spend  his  lifetime  be- 
fore the  Blessed  Sacrament,  and  yet  for  all 
that"  not  be  a  saint 


EFFECTS    OF    VENIAL    SIN.  259 

Oh,  have  pity,  at  least,  on  Our  Lord,  do 
not  insult  Him  to  His  face!  People  do  not 
chase  away  a  beggar  with  injuries  although 
they  can  not  give  him  anything.  Jesus  is 
begging  for  our  heart.  They  do  not  return 
rude  words  tO'  a  benefactor  who  has  bestowed 
a  gift  upon  them.  With  how  many  benefits 
is  not   Our  Lord  incessantly   loading  usl 

And  that  is  not  all.  Venial  sin,  which 
paralyzes  God's  power,  delivers  us  into  that 
of  the  demon  and  of  corrupt  nature,  which 
he  governs.  Then  we  act  by  the  instincts  of 
nature,  by  self-love,  land  we  succeed  and 
are  satisfied,  for  nature  is  very  skilful  when 
it  acts  for  itself.  But  what  is  there  for  God 
in  these  works? 

In  effect,  annulling  actual  grace  by  venial 
sin,  all  that  we  do  under  its  influence  re- 
mains. God  offers  us  His  grace,  but  we 
refuse  it,  we  reject  His  guidance  in  order 
to  depend  on  ourselves,  and  that  is  an  in- 
fidell!y. 

""  know  that  all  a  man's  actions  performed 
purely  frcrni  nature  are  not  sins,  and  that 
he, can,  even  without  Supernatural  grace,  per- 


260  EFFECTS    OF    VENIAL    SIN. 

form  some  acts  of  the  moral  virtues  that  are 
both  good  and  honorable.  But  that  is  not 
mounting  on  high.  For  an  action  to  reach 
the  throne  of  God  there  to  be  cro\\Tied,  it 
must  be  borne  up  by  grace,  which  alone  has 
the   pow^er  to  carry  it   on  to  eternal  life. 

And  then,  if  this  is  true  in  theory,  it  is 
otherwise  in  practice.  I  do  not  believe  in 
the  moral  virtues  of  men  who  have  not  the 
divine  virtues.  He  who  refuses  the  grace 
of  God  which  is  offered  to  him,  in  order 
to  act   by    nature,    acts    perversely. 

But  how  much  truer  is  that  for  us  I  We 
fall  not  from  graces  as  great  as  ours,  with- 
out  breaking  limbs. 

We  deprive  ourselves,  in  consequence,  of 
merit.  He  who  labors  in  sin  wears  himself 
out  without  gaining  anything.  Still  more, 
he  will  be  punished  for  what  he  ought  to  do, 
since  he  has  the  grace  for  it,  and  does  not 
cooperate.  Our  good  works  then  become  our 
condemnation,  for  all  that  venial  sin  touches, 
it  renders  useless.     It  is  the  worm  at  the  root. 

If  what  you  have  commenced  well  by  grace 
you  finish  by  self-love,  it  becomes  worthless 


EFFECTS    OF    VENIAL    SIN.  261 

as  far  as  recompense  is  concerned.  So,  venial 
sin  renders  good  things  bad.  It  looks  out 
for  them  in  order  eventually  to  destroy  them. 
We  are  then,  like  the  laborer  who  sees  the 
hail  destroying  in  the  twinkling  of  an  eye 
the  hopes  and  labors  of  a  year.  A  little  sin 
of  self-love,  a  look  upon  self,  is  sufficient 
for  that. 

Lastly,  venial  sin  makes  us  unhappy.  The 
tepid  religious  is  the  most  unhappy  of  men. 
He  labors  as  much  as  his  brethren  but,  un- 
like them,  he  does  not  receive  those  heavenly 
consolations  that  sweeten  labor.  He  refuses 
them.  On  account  of  that  obstacle  of  sin, 
which  is  an  insurmountable  barrier  to  His 
goodness,  God  cannot  make  him  taste  His 
peace.  His  unction. 

He  no  longer  tastes  the  joys  of  a  good 
conscience,  for  they  flourish  only  m  con- 
sciences that  God  illumines  and  visits.  His 
own,  instead  of  being  this  perpetual  feast, 
is  dark  and  breathes  of  brimstone.  It  is 
tortured  by  remorse  and  fear.  It  is  always 
trembling  and  carrying  around  with  it  per- 
petu-*:!   chastisement. 


262  EFFECTS    OF    VENIAL    SIN. 

He  has  not  even  the  consolations  that  the 
world  gives  to  its  servants.  The  world  cannot 
come  to  him  with  its  pleasures  and,  should, 
he  abandon  his  vocation  to  go  demand  them 
of  it,  it  does  but  increase  his  unhappiness, 
for  he  drags  after  him  everywhere  the  chains 
of  his   vows   and   obligations. 

Oh,  how  dear  one  pays  for  venial  sinf 
It  enters  by  flattering,  and  it  remains  to  bite. 
It  is  a  swarm  of  ants  that  eat  away  the 
heart.  No  more  pleasure,  no  more  joy  in 
prayer,  the  soul  no  longer  wants  to  see  GodJ 
Do  you  not  know   this  from  experience? 

Come,  now,  let  us  lave  Our  Lord  so  much 
at  least  as  not  to  offend  Him  any  more 
and,  above  all,  not  to  remain  in  sin.  May 
love  and  repentance  raise  us  out  of  it  at 
once! 

How  we  pain  the  good  God.  It  would  be 
easy  during  the  retreat  to  add  up  our  venial 
sins  for  a  day.  You  would  be  frightened 
to  see  the  sum  total.  What  would  it  be, 
could  you  count  all  you  have  committed  in 
your  lifetime?  One  minute  is  sufficient  to 
commit  a  sin,  and  interior  sins  call  for  still 


EFFECTS    OF    VENIAL    SIN.  263 

less    time.    Our  venial   sins   are   incalculable. 

Some  think  themselves  responsible  for  only 
those  that  they  know.  Let  us  say  for  those 
that  they  commit,  for  that  is  another  thing. 
To  know  and  to  commit,  are  two  things. 

Our  Lord  says  we  shall  render  an  account 
for  every  idle  word.  If  an  idle  word  forms  a 
subject  for  judgment,  count,  if  you  can, 
your  sins  of  sloth,  of  sensuaHty,  of  vanity, 
of  self-love.  You  will  have  to  see  them  in  pur- 
gatory, and  expiate  them  to  the  last  farthing. 

Be,  then,  very  scrupulous  about  the  least 
faults,  about  everything  that  concerns  your 
conscience  and  the  Rule.  Take  care!  They 
who  abandon  their  vocation  for  crimes  have 
begun  by  nothings.  When  a  stone  be- 
comes detached  from  a  mountain,  we  know 
not  how  far  it  may  fall  We  know  only 
that  the  greater  the  height  from  which  it  fails, 
the  deeper  will  be  the  descent. 


t*&*&*£^*£j^«&s£<ii&^s3&*&«&^2&*&*2&*&j&1 


OUR  LORD'S  EXPIATION 


of  SIN. 


ET  us  meditate  on  the  way  Our  Lord 
expiated  sin.  We  shall  find  there  the 
true  idea  of  reparation  and  penitence,  and 
we    shall    comprehend    its    malice. 

Some  say:  "What  wrong  has  sin  done  to 
God,  after  all?  In  reality,  it  neither  attacks 
nor  destroys  the  essence  of  God.  It  takes 
nothing  from  His  happiness.  What  can 
pygmies  do  against  a  giant?" 

This  is  the  reasoning  of  the  world.  The 
pious,  also,  use  it  more  or  less  in  order  to 
excuse  themselves  for  their  sins. 

Here  is  the  answer:  God,  in  order  to  man- 
ifest clearly  what  sin  is  in  His  eyes,  has 
given  His  own  Son  to  pay  the  debt  rigor- 
ously, and  to  expiate  it  in  a  manner  equal 
to  the  offence.  Sin  deserves  all  that  Jesus 
suffered.  God  did  but  satisfy  the  demands 
of  His  justice  by  condemning  Him  to  that 
terrible  Passion  and  to  that  death  on  Calvary. 

Jesus   came  and,   having  taken  upon   Him- 


OUR   LORD'S   EXPIATION   OF  SIN.         265 

self  our  sins,  became  our  security,  and  endur- 
ed all  that  we  should  have  to  undergo.  If, 
then,  you  would  comprehend  the  magnitude 
of-  the  evil,  study  the  greatness  of  the  rep- 
aration.   Sin   means  Jesus   Crucified. 

Now,  as  all  sins  spring  from  these  three 
sources,  pride,  cupidity,  and  the  pleasures  of 
the  flesh,  let  us  see  how  Jesus  has  expiated 
this  triple  evil. 

I.  —  Jesus  took  upon  Himself  every  hu- 
miliation in  order  to  repair  every  species  of 
pride.  The  Word  was  humbled  even  to  the 
form  of  a  slave.  He  came  on  earth  to  be 
annihilated.  His  whole  life  was  but  one  long 
humiliation  ending  in  the  opprobrium  of 
Calvary. 

Behold  Him  humbling  Himself  in  His  birth. 
Men  love  to  vaunt  their  birth,  their  noble 
origin.  They  love  to  tell  of  the  chateau  in 
which  they  were  born.  To  confound  this 
pride  of  station,  Jesus  was  born  in  a  stable. 

Men  speak  of  their  education,  of  their 
illustrious  masters.  Jesus  fled  into  Egypt.  He 
returned  to  Nazareth,  a  country  of  such  ill- 
fame  that  a  well-bred  man  would  say :  "  Can 

The  Divine  Eucharist  i8 


266        OUR   LORD'S   EXPIATION    OF  SIN. 

anything  good  come  from  Nazareth?"  In 
the  eyes  of  the  public  a  Nazarene  counted 
less  than  nothing. 

Men  like  to  say :  "  I  am  from  a  fine  country, 
a  great  city,  a  rich  region."  Jesus  says:  "I 
am  from  Nazareth,  "  although,  in  reality,  He 
was  of  the  royal  city  of  Juda.  One  might 
say  that  He  had  a  weakness  for  humiliation, 
His  boast  being  annihilation  in  every  thing. 

Men  speak  of  their  successes,  their  studies. 
They  so  much  love  to  pass  for  savants !  Jesus 
was  the  Word  of  God.  He  knew  everything, 
and  yet  for  thirty  years,  He  maintained  si- 
lence He  passed  for  an  illiterate  man,  a 
day-laborer,  a  carpenter. 

Later  on,  He  will  perform  admirable  works, 
but  He  will  give  orders  for  them  to  be  hidden, 
to  be  passed  over  in.  silence;  and  when  men 
want  to  glorify  Him,  He  will  flee  to  the 
desert. 

Men  love  to  nmke  a  boast  of  their  rela- 
tions with  the  great  and  the  influential,  and 
to  say :  "  That  illustrious  man  is  my  friend. 
He  knows  me.  He  receives  me.  "  Thus  they 
elevate    themselves    in   their   friends. 


OUR   LORD'S   EXPIATION    OF   SIN.         267 

Our  Lord  was  not  known  by  the  great,  and 
He  knew  no  person'  of  influence.  On  the 
contrary,  the  rich  and  the  great  are  His 
enemies,  because  He  is  poor  and  hails  from 
Galilee  He  used  to  be  surrounded  by  the 
poor,  the  untutored,  the  coarse-mannered. 
As  a  general  thing,  only  the  poor  and  the 
lowly  followed  Him  and  formed  His  auditory. 
Others  came  only  to  surprise  Him  in  His 
words.  If,  however,  one  or  two  great  men 
among  the  people  were  attracted  to  Him,  they 
hid,  they  came  to  Him  by  night.  There  was 
a  kind  of  shame  attached  to  being  seen  with 
Him. 

Behold  how  Our  Lord  during  His  1  fe  re- 
paired for  pride! 

But  how  recount  the  humiliations  of  His 
Passion?  I  enter  not  into  detail,  for  you 
know  it.  But  follow  Our  Lord  to  the  house 
of  Caiaphas,  Herod,  Pilate,  and  see  what 
pride  cost  Himl  Look  at  Him  on  the  Cross 
between  two  thieves,  execrated  by  all,  and  in 
some  measure  rightly,  since  He  willed  to 
pass  for  guilty.  The  judges  of  His  country 
having  condemned  Him,  all  who  beheld  Him 


268        OUR    LORD'S    EXPIATION  OF   SIN. 

on  the  Cross,  cried  out:  "Cursed  is  He 
that   hangeth   on  the   Cross!" 

Thus  was  He  the  accursed  of  God  and  of 
man,  a  worm  of  the  earth.  Men  dared  not 
even  look  upon  Him,  such  was  the  humil- 
iation, such  the  humiliations  of  every  kind 
that  mantled  Him,  that  disfigured  Him 
Never    did    a    leper    excite    such    disgust! 

Humility  —  so  fondly  did  Our  Lord  em- 
brace It.  love  It,  make  it  His  own  that  it  is 
the  only  thmg  in  which  He  glories  and 
wishes  us  to  see  in  Him:  "  Discite  a  me  quia 
hiimilis  corde  —  Learn  of  Me  that  I  am  meek 
and    humble    of    Heart!" 

See  what  pride  cost  Him,  what  the  Father 
exacted  of  His  Son,  to  satisfy  His  justice 
and  to  restore  the  rights  of  His  Majesty 
wounded  by  sin!  Do  you  still  say  that  God 
is  indifferent  to  sin  ? 

Now,  every  time  that  we  commit  a  sin 
of  pride,  we  renew  all  the  humiliations  of 
Our  Lord. 

Pride  is  at  the  bottom  of  our  being.  All 
our  sins  spring  from  it  directly  or  indirectly. 
Take  away  pride,  and  you  dry  up  their  source. 


OUR   LORD'S   EXPIATION  OF   SIN.         269 

Cpncupiscence  itself  is  most  frequently  its 
punishment,  for  God,  as  says  Saint  Paul, 
abandons  to  the  insensate  desires  of  the  flesh 
men  who  yield  to  their  pride.  The  avaricious 
man  is  what  he  is  only  through  pride.  Egoism 
is  his  last  word:  self,  to  the  cost  of  all 
else;  self,  the  end  of  all.  All  sins  may  thus 
establish  relationship,  trace  their  lineage  to 
pride.  It  is  what  Our  Lord  expiated  more 
than  all  other  sins,  and  willed,  above  all, 
to  be  humbled  in  everything  and  at  all  times. 

But  there  is  one  species  of  pride  which 
must  be  shunned  more  than  any  other,  and 
that  is,  spiritual  pride,  which  consists  in 
glorifying  self  in  God's  graces,  in  making  self 
the  end  of  one's  supernatural  gifts,  in 
crowning  self  with  God's  benefits.  It  is  pride 
springing  from  one's  noble  vocation,  from 
the  priesthood,  by  which  one  seeks  to  elevate 
himself  in  the  eyes  of  men  on  account  of 
his  prerogatives,  and  attract  upon  himself 
their  esteem  and  confidence.  Such  was,  the 
pride  of  Lucifer  in  heaven,  the  worst  pride  of 
all,   for  that   is   sacrilegious   pride. 

It    is,    also,    the    most    subtle   and    lasting. 


270        OUR   LORD'S  EXPIATION   OF  SIN. 

When    one   prides   himself   on   some   natural 
quality,    such  as   his  fortune,    his  knowledge, 
it   is   only   in   passing.    He   soon  finds   some 
one   richer   and   more   learned   than   himself 
But  of  that   Satanic   pride,    who  can  explore 
its  depths?    Your  outward  life  is  in  keeping 
with   what  you  want  people  to  think  of  you 
The  world  sees   only  your  graces,   the  place 
you   occupy    in   the   sanctuary,    and  it   knows 
not   of  your  deep-rooted   unworthincss.    This 
kind  ol  pride  always  strikes  deeper  and  deeper 
roots.     It  is  a  sacrilegious  robbery      It  is  seiz- 
ing upon  God's  gifts,  stealmg  from  Him  the 
love  of  souls,  to  which  He  has  a  right,  and 
to  accomplish  that  end  they  make  use  of  His 
grace,   of  his   own  functions,   of  the  sublime 
gifts  He  has  bestowed  on  them  as  His  min 
isters. 

We  wish  to  be  esteemed  among  men  on 
account  of  the  dignity  to  which  God  has 
called  us,  as  if  we  ourselves  had  merited  it, 
as  if  we  held  it  of  ourselves  as  the  just  rec- 
ompense of  our  deserts.  Of  these  entirely 
gratuitous  gifts  which  God  has  confided  to 
•us  that  we  may  put   them  out  at  profit  for 


OUR  lord's  expiation  of  sin.      271 

Him  and  deliver  them  over  to  His  Christian 
family,  we  make  a  throne  for  self  and  lay 
claim  to  be  honored  instead  of  God  whom 
we  have  deprived  of  it  I  I  declare  that  this 
sacrilegious  pride  is  worse  than  even  that  of 
Lucifer  and  his  angels,  when  they  fell  from 
heaven,  for  they  had  never  beheld  Jesus 
Sacramental ! 

And  we  are  proud  before  Our  Lord  anni- 
hilated, humbled  to  an  unheard  of  excess  I 
We  even  go  so  far  as  to  elevate  self  upon 
Our  Lord's  abasement,  and  make  of  it  a 
ladder  by  which  to  rise! 

I  am  convinced  that  all  the  punishments 
God  sends  to  His  elect,  to  those  of  His  sane 
tuary,  are  only  to  chastise  that  abominable 
pride,  for  it  is  so  deceitful  in-  reality  and  in 
outward  appearance  that  God  alone  can  pun- 
ish it.  See  what  falls,  into  what  abysses 
they  tumble  who  make  self  their  end  and 
their  recompense  by  crowning  themselves 
with  their  gifts  and  taking  to  themselves  the 
homage  of  souls! 

Worldings  say  that  there,  is  no  one  so 
proud  as   religious   with  their  privileges  and 


272       OUR   lord's   EXPIATION  OF  SIN. 

their  beautiful  habits.  May  they  never  be 
able  to  say  that  of  us!  Always  remember 
that  Jesus  Christ  is  m  the  midst  of  you 
hidden,  annihilated,  deprived  of  all  glory, 
and  even  of  every  sign  of  glory  divine  or 
human.  Wrap  yourselves  up  in  the  obscurity 
under  which  He  is  hiding  His  Divinity  and 
His  Humanity,  His  glory  and  all  His  gifts, 
and  never  emerge  from  it 

Do  you  not  see  that  to  expiate  pride, 
Our  Lord  wills  to  continue  till  the  end  of 
the  world  humbled  in  the  Eucharist?  Of 
all  the  sufferings  of  His  mortal  life,  He 
retains  only  His  humiliation.  You  see  Him 
there  always  humbled;  or  rather,  you  do  not 
even  see  Him,  for  He  has  no  being,  He  has 
only   the  appearance   of   being 

The  humiliations  of  the  Eucharist  are  per- 
petuated only  to  form  a  counterpobe  to  the 
fatal  effects  of  spiritual  pride,  which  makes 
so  terrible  ravages  even  in  the  assembly  of 
the  saints.  What  horror  God  must  have  of 
it  for  Him  to  condemn  His  glorious  Son, 
who  ought  to  have  been  reigning  in  splendor 
and   majesty,   to  such   excess   of  humiliation, 


OUR   LORD'S   EXPIATION  OF  SIN.         273 

and  that  till  the  end  of  time  in  the  Eu- 
charist 1 

II.  —  I  shall  say  little  of  the  way  Our 
Lord  repairs  concupiscence  after  earthly 
goods.  Avarice  cannot  be  the  sin  of  re- 
ligious such  as  you,  for  you  own  nothing, 
you   are   not   aiming    at    making    a   fortune. 

Still  take  care  against  spiritual  cupidity, 
spiritual  ambition.  Know  that  nothing  is 
more  shameful  than  to  enter  religion  there 
to  make  a  position  for  one's  self,  to  find 
therein  what  one  could  never  have  achiev- 
ed in  the  world.  There  are  some  who,  not 
being  able  to  rise  through  want  of  talent, 
enter  religion  in  order  to  receive  from  it 
name,  position,  influence.  Because  of  the 
glory  crowning  the  name  of  some  Institute, 
they  hope  to  become  popular  preachers, 
popular  confessors.  More  do  this  than  is 
suspected.  They  deserve  to  be  struck  by 
the  divine  wrath!  We  are  not  far  wrong  if 
we  seek  the  cause  of  the  terrible  chas- 
tisements that  fell  on  the  Religious  Orders 
during  the  French  Revolution,  in  those  mem- 
bers who  were  religious  rather  for  their  own 


274        OUR    LORD'S    EXPIATION   OF   SIN. 

aggrandizement  than  for  God,  who  labored 
more  for  their  own  interests  than  fo-r  His 
glory 

To  expiate  these  evils  of  cupidity,  Our 
Lord  came  poor  of  poor  parents.  He  work- 
ed for  His  daily  bread,  He  received  assist 
ance  from  charity,  He  died  poor,  owning 
not  even  the  winding-sheet  for  His  burial 
He  lived  without  support,  without  protectors. 
He  never  had  any  position,  but  went  here 
and  there,  as  the  Spirit  urged  Him,  preaching 
to  all,  sometimes  followed,  sometimes  aban- 
doned. He  could  say  of  Himself  "  The  Son 
of  Man  came  not  to  be  ser\'ed,  but  to  serve." 

III.  —  Our  Lord  expiated  concupiscence  of 
the  flesh  by  the  austerity  and  sufferings 
of  His  whole  life,  but  above  all  by  those  of 
His  Passion.  Some  may  ask  how  the  Father 
could  have  tlie  heart  to  condemn  Our  Lord,  to 
torments  so  cruel  as  those  that  Het  endured 
Our  Lord  had  to  repair  for  our  sensuality, 
for  the  sins  of  our  flesh.  The  Father  let 
nothing  pass  away  from  His  Son.  He  did 
not  even  allow  Himself  to  be  moved  by  that 
prolonged   prayer  accompanied   by  tears  and 


OUR    LORD'S    EXPIATION  OF  SIN.  275 

sweat  and  blood,   which   Our   Lord  made  to 

Him  for  three  hours  in  the  Garden  of  Olives. 

No  I    all    that    was    necessary    to    expiate    the 

sins   of   sensuality. 

It  was,  above  all,  according  to  some  saints, 

during    His    bloody    Agony    in    Gethsemani, 

that    Our    Lord    repaired    for    the    sins     of 

thought. 
Are  those  sins,  then,  so  grave?'  Yes,  there 

is  often  more  of  sensuality  (in  the  thought 
than  in  the  act;  at  least,  it  may  be  renew- 
ed without  interruption,  it  may  be  dwelt  upon, 
while  the  act  is  committed  but  in  passing. 
It  was  for  this  that  Our  Lord  suffered  the 
crucifixion  of  His  soul  during  three  hours. 
It  was  a  suffering  as  great,  as  intense  as 
that  of  the  Cross,  for  the  special  support  of 
His  Divinity  was  needed  to  prevent  His 
succumbing  under  it.  His  crushed  soul 
abandoned  Him.  Oh,  what  our  evil  thoughts 
have  made  Him  endure !  Through  them 
alone,  He  endured  all  that  Passion  of  Geth 
semani.  And  the  sensuality  of  gourmandir 
ing.  The  Saviour  who  had  always  lived  like, 
the  poor,  content  with  bread  and  water  the 


276        OUR    LORD'S   EXPIATION  OF   SIN. 

greater  part  of  the  time,  took  nothing  during 
the  whole  of  His  Passion,  though  having 
sweat  blood  and  water,  having  been  flag 
ellated  with  three  thousand  blows,  having 
traversed  under  the  Eastern  sun  the  streets 
of  Jerusalem  laden  with  His  Cross,  and  having 
fallen,  unable  to  go  farther,  and  parched 
with  devouring  thirst.  And  yet  He  waited 
until  He  reached  Calvary.  There  only  did 
He  ask  for  some  relief  for  tliat  thirst,  and 
they   presented    Him   vnnegar! 

The  sensuality  of  the  bed.  Was  the  bed 
of  the  Cross  rather  hard?  And  that  of 
Gethsemani?  It  began  by  the  straw  in  the 
stable,  then  the  bare  earth,  a  stone  of  the 
vvayside,  were  Jesus'  bed  and  pillow  during 
His  life.  The  straw,  the  ground,  and  the 
Cross  —  behold  how  He  repaired  for  the  im- 
mortification  of  the  couch! 

As  to  the  sin  against  holy  purity,  we  dare 
not  even  mention  it  or  show  how  the  Saviour 
expiated  it,  so  humiliating  was  it  for  Jesus 
to  be  obliged  to  take  upon  Himself  that 
horrible    sin,    also. 

They   led    Him.    purity   itself,   before  the   in- 


OUR    LORD'S   EXPIATION   OF   SIN.         277 

cestuous  Herod.  Of  whom  was  the  court  of 
that  lewd  man  composed?  To  what  looks 
was  Jesus  there  to  be  subjected  ?  And  Pi- 
late and  the  pagan  executioners,  —  what 
were  they  but  idolaters  of  the  senses,  like 
all  pagans?  Jesus  consented  to  submit  to 
the  shame  of  nudity,  of  complete  stripping 
before  those  wretches;  and  it  is  in  the  naked- 
ness of  the  Cross  that  He  will  show  Himself 
even  to  the  end  of  the  world,  exposed  to  the 
railleries  of  libertines,  as  well  as  to  the  adora- 
tion of  pure  souls.  He  is  a  worm  of  the 
earth!  He  is  naked  in  expiation  and  covered 
with  ignominy  to  expiate  the  sin  that  Adam 
committed  in  innocent  nudity  and  clothed  with 
glory.  No,  there  is  not  in  creation  a  being 
as  naked  as  Our  Lord  in  His  Passion! 

And  the  vanity  of  sensuality,  the  vanity  of 
the  body,  see  Our  Lord  repairing  it.  People 
idolize  their  hair,  they  powder  their  face. 
Our  Lord's  head  was  pierced  with  a  crown 
of  thorns  and  His  cheeks  covered  with  spittle. 
The  feet  that  men  cover  so  elegantly  and 
which  lead  them  to  evil,  the  hands  that  they 
keep  so  white  and  delicate  m  order  to  per- 


278   .  OUR  lord's  expiation  of  sin. 

form  it  —  do  you  see  how  Our  Lord's  are 
pierced  with  nails?  His  body  is  everywhere 
dug,  because  we  are  vain  and  sensual  ir 
all  our  members. 

Behold  how  worthy  reparation  is  made,  by 
always  choosing  the  contrary  to  the  evil,  and 
by  repairing  it  under  all  its  forms 

Behold  why  the  saints  spent  their  whole 
life    mortifying    themselves! 

The  whole  man  is  summed  uj)  in  these 
throe  things:  the  mind  and  its  pride,  the 
heart  and  its  cupidity,  the  flesh  and  its  con- 
cupiscence. Jesus  expiated  these  three  evils, 
these    three    sources    of    sin. 

IV.  —  But  if  the  Heavenly  Father  exacted 
such  reparation  from  His  Son.  how  will  ii 
fare  with  us?  What  torments  He  will  invent 
against  us,  not  for  expiation,  but  to  punish  us! 

Vou  see,  then,  in  Our  Lord  what  sin  is. 
If  it  were  so  small  a  thing,  God  would  not 
arm  Himself  with  all  His  justice  against  His 
Son  merely  because  He  has  assumed  its  re- 
sponsibility, and  although  He  had  never 
committed  it.  God  would  rather  cease  to  be 
God    than    to    suffer    sin    to    go    unpunished. 


OUR  lord's  expiation  of  sin.        279 

And  at  the  end  of  your  life,  had  you  Uved 
the  life  of  a  saint  and  performed  miracles, 
if  there  remain  a  single  sin  in  you,  only  a 
little  dust  of  sin,  you  would  go  to  get  rid  of 
it  in  the  flames  of  purgatory. 

God  does  not  look  upon  sin  as  a  jest.  We 
are  His  children.  Our  place  is  in  heaven. 
He  is  there  awaiting  us,  and  He  wants  to 
clasp  us  in  His  arms.  But  as  long  as  there 
is  one  sin  on  us,  He  will  keep  us  at  a  dis- 
tance,  for  .  ages    if   necessary. 

Now,  listen!  Have  you  committed  a  mortal 
sin  in  your  life?  Then,  you  deserve  hell. 
Why  are  you  not  there?  Justice  which  does 
not  punish  the  guilty  is  not  justice.  God  is, 
then,  no  longer  just?  Yes,  but  He  sees  His 
Son  supplicating  Him  to  spare  you.  "  Do  not 
strike,  "  says  Jesus  to  His  angry  Father, 
"wait  awhile!"  He  presses  you  to  His 
Heait,  covers  you  with  His  Person.  "  I  want 
to  resuscitate  him,  to  give  Him  My  blood 
to  purify  him.     Let  Me  save  him!" 

And  the  Father  spares  us.  Justice  suspends 
its  course  and,  instead  of  chastisement,  we 
are  honored,  loaded  with  graces  and  favors. 


280        OUR   LORD'S   EXPIATION  OF   SIN. 

In  this  life  goodness  is  greater  than  justice. 
It  will  be  otherwise  after  death! 

Expiate  your  sins,  then.  Weep  over  them 
incessantly..  Saint  Peter  did  not  remain  long 
in  his  sin,  but  he  bewailed  it  all  his  life. 
Expiate,  above  all,  certain  sins  which  attack 
O'ir  Lord  m  His. Heart.  When  one  has  a 
friend,  one  never  pardons  himself  for  having 
given  Him  pain. 

Doubtless,  God  has  pardoned  you,  but  you, 
do  you  not  pardon  yourself.  Be  toward  God, 
who  is  so  good,  like  the  child  whom  its 
mother  has  forgiven,  but  who,  m  spite  of 
that,  returns  constantly  to  ask  pardon,  so 
sorry  is  it  for  having  offended  the  mother  it 
loves  so  much ! 


^  ■         j^ 


HELL. 


ET  US  speak  of  hell.  The  greatest 
saints  have  been  helped  by  this  con- 
sideration, and  they  have  found  in  it  motives 
for  loving  Our  Lord  more.  Love  produces 
sanctity,  but  sometimes  it  has  need  of  being 
helped  by  fear.  There  are  times  when  it  is 
necessary. 

1.  —  I  confess  this  subject  affrights  me, 
and  that  the  hardest  truth  to  believe  is  that 
of  hell.  Every  one  believes  in  it,  however, 
infidels,  pagans,  Turks,  and  heretics,  as  well 
as  Catholics,  all  believe  in  it.  And  yet  the 
incredulous,  or  those  whose  faith  is  dormant, 
are  frightened  by  this  truth  and,  if  some  one 
prove>  it  to  them,  they  blaspheme  against 
God.  There  are  countries  where  hell  cannot 
be  spoken  of  without  scandalizing  and  driving 
the  people  away. 

Hell  makes  a  salutary  impression  only  on 
those  that  love  God;  others  maice  use  of  it 
only  to  insult  Him  more  by  blaspheming  His 
justice. 

Now,  how  is  it  that  God  who  is  so  good, 

The  Divine  Eucharist.  19 


282  HELL 

can  condemn  one  of  His  creatures  whom  Ho 
has  made  in  His  love,  one  of  His  children 
whom  He  so  loves,  to  eternal  hell?  It  is  true, 
however,  for  after  death  He  is  without  mercy. 
The  elect  are  few,  He  has  said.  Of  the  two 
ways  that  lead,  the  one  to  life  aiid  the  other 
to  death,  the  first  is  little  tiodden,  but  the 
second  runs  all  over  the  world  According- 
to  these  words,  the  greater  part  of  men  will 
be  damned.  Although  the  Gospel  does  not 
speak  in  plain  terms  on  this  point,  yet  what 
we  see  is  sufficiently  clear  to  make  us  fear. 

Buc  the  mystery  is  still  more  obscure.  How 
can  God,  who  is  so  good,  condemn  so  many 
souls  to  hell  for  all  eternity?  We  know  men 
who  would  condemn  to  death  not  even  the 
greatest  villains,  and  yetGod  condemns  with- 
out pity,  and  to  such  a  death,  to  such  tor- 
ments i  Mercy  appears,  however,  to  follow 
us  into  the  other  life,  since  He  pardons  the 
souls  in  purgatory.  He  is  pitiless  only  to.vard 
the  damned.  He  condemns  them  and  laughs 
at  them:  "  Subsannabo  vos !  I  also  will  laugh 
in  your  destruction.  " 

There    are    however    some,    among     these 


HELL  283 

damned  souls  who  served  Him  a  long  time, 
who  passed  for  saints  on  earth-  "  Siihsan- 
naOo!"  God  finds  in  them  a  mortal  sin,  He 
counts  all  their  services  for  nothing,  and 
He  hurls  them  into  the  abyss  of  hell. 

Eternity!  Eternity  of  chastisement,  of  ihe 
loss  of  God  1  When  we  thinJk  of  it,  we  shudder 
with  fright! 

Above  all,  an  eternity  of  despair,  of  shame, 

of    pimishments  —  the   very   .words   make    us 

tremble!     And    we    know    of    DociOis    who 

taught    that    hell    is    not    eternal,    because    it 

would  be  too  repugnant  to  the  goodness  of 

God;    but    that,    after    a    thousand    years,    it 

would  be  closed.    That  is  an  error  condemned 

by  the  Church.    But  we  can  easily  understand 

that  such  an  error  would  have  many  partisans. 

It  does  away  with  that  fear  of  hell  and  eternal 

pain,   and  soothes  the  frightened  soul.    No! 

Ever   to   despair,   to   tear   out   one's  hair,   to 

gnash  the  teeth,  to  be  eaten  up  with  remorse, 

that  is  the  eternal  law  of  hell. 

Even    in   this   life,    despair   is    one    of   the 

most  cruel  torments.    Men  can  resist  it  only 

by  a  special  help  of  grace.    They  who  have 


284  HELL 

no  faith  prefer  death  to  despair,  and  they 
5hun  it  by  suicide.  But  in  hell  they  cannot 
take  their  hfe,  they  Uvc  on  in  agony,  in  the 
agonies  ot  a  despair  that  will  know  no  end, 
that  will  nev^er  receive  a  ray  of  consolation, 
a  drop  of  refreshment ! 

11  ere  is  a  scene  which  has  been  deeply 
engraven  in  my  memory,  and  which  will  give 
you   buiuc   ide.i   of   the   suffering   oi   despair: 

In  the  year  1852,  there  was  brought  to  me 
one  poss-essed,  a  very  good  man,  and  in  his 
momenta  of  liberty,  an  excellciU  Christian. 
The  demon  spoke  by  his  mouth.  He  blas- 
phemed against  the  everlasting  torments  to 
which  he  was  condemned.  A  priest  who  was 
present  said  to  him:  "To  what  conditions 
would  you  consent,  in  order  to  obtain  in  a 
million  of  years  one  gleam  of  hope?"  Thca 
that  demon,  who  said  he  had  once  been  a 
seraph  in  heaven  and  was  called  Astaroth,  il- 
Uunined  the  face  of  the  possessed  man  with 
a  sinister  brightness,  and  replied  in  a  voice 
hissing  with  rage :  "  If  from  hell  to  heaven, 
ihere  were  a  pillar  bristling  with  scythes, 
poignards,   and  other  sharp  instruments,   and 


HELL  285 

it  were  necessary  to  mount  it  every  day 
for  that  million  of  years,  we  would  all  do  it, 
for  the  sake  of  being  able  to  hope  merely 
for  one  minute.  But  that  cannot  be  done!" 
And  blaspheming  with  rage,  he  launched  im 
precations  against  God.  "  Oh, "  said  he  to 
us,  "how  unjust  is  God!  You  men,  you 
have  sinned  a  thousand  times  more  than  we! 
We  sinned  but  once,  and  you  renew  your 
crimes  daily.  And  yet  He  pardons  you.  All 
the  love  is  for  you;  for  us,  the  vengeance 
of  justice!  "  And  he  tore  his  hair  in  despair. 
He  would  have  killed  himself  had  he  not  been 
restrained. 

Behold,  again,  in  the  Gospel,  that  unfor- 
tunate, rich  man  of  the  earth'  in  hell.  He 
supplicated  Father  Abraham  to  give  him.  one 
drop,  only  one  drop  of  water  to  moisten  his 
burning  lips.  "  It  is  impossible,  "  responded 
the  Lord.  "There  is  an  impassable  abyss 
between  you  and  us!  You  enjoyed  when  on 
earth,  now  you  are  suffering  justly!"  Do 
you  understand  that  word?  That  man  had 
not  committed  any  of  those  great  crinies 
which   human  justice   punishes,   he   had   only 


286       .  HELL 

enjoyed  immoderately  the  p;Ood  things  of 
earth.  He  was  condemned  without  hope,, 
without  consolation,  forever,  forever! 

The  greatest  suffering  of  the  damned  i^  not 
physical,  but  moral  suffering.  Their  great 
est  punishment  is  in  the  imagination,  their 
memory,  and  their  understanding. 

But,  more  than  all,  what  must  not  those 
souls  suffer  who,  for  tlie  greater  part  of 
their  life,  performed  good  works,  or  even, 
like  that  priest  Saprise,  0[  whom  the  History 
of  the  Church  speaks,  who  had  begun  to 
suffer  the  first  torments  of  martyrdom,  but 
wlio  did  not  persevere  lo  the  end?*  Ah.  tl\ey 
are  the  truly  despairing,  the  damned  that 
suffer  most !  They  once  loved  God.  They 
could  so  easily  have  continued  faithful  to 
Him.  They  see  that  now  They  had  a  fore- 
taste of  eternal  happmess  when  they  served 
Him,  and  now  they  behold  themselves  for- 
ever separated  from  Him!  Forever!  since, 
as  i>a\.^  the  Wise  Man,  there  are  three  grCcU 
abysses  which  never  say  enough,  the  miser, 
death,  and  hell! 
The   conclusion  for   us   is   to  fear,   to   work 


HELL  287 

out  our  salvation  with  fear  and  trembling". 
There  are  in  hell  some  who  certainly  have 
not  sinned  so  much  as  I.  Oh,  how  good 
was  God  not  to  have  struck'  me  at  once 
after  I  had  sinned!  I  deserved  it,  however. 
Had  He  condemned  me,  I  should  have  had 
nothing-  to  say.  The  assassin  has  no  reply 
lo  make  when  he  is  condemned  to  death. 
It  is  the  Jaw  of  retaliation.  Now,  a  single 
one  of  my  mortal  sins  put  Jesus  Christ  to 
death.  I  am  His  executioner  and  His  as- 
sassin, • 

Hell  is  not  wanting  in  men  who,-  when  on 
earth,  were  regarded  as  saints.  There  are 
priests  and  religious  there,  for  certain.  The 
same  might  happen  to  me,  for  they  were 
holier  than  I. 

How  good  is  God  not  to  have  abandoned 
me  I  On  the  other  side,  who  can  say  wheth- 
er I  shall  persevere  till  the  end?  This  is 
the  great  question.  I  now  desire  it,  certainly; 
but  shall  I  always  say  so? 

Men  have  not  enough  horror  for  sin,  and 
when  they  commit  it,  they  have  not  sufficient 
courage  to  do  penance  for  it  as  they  should. 


288  HELL 

They  hope,  and  they  say:  "  When  I  get  sick, 
I  will  go  to  confession.  I  will  make  a  good 
act  of  contrition,  and  seciire  my  salvation 
that  way.  "  No,  no  I  Illusion!  Our  Lord  has 
promised  to  come  to  us  like  a  thief.  He  will 
laugh    at    us,    and    frustrate    all    our    plans. 

And  then,  in  reality,  who  knows  whether  I 
shall  not  again  commit  some  mortal  sin? 
Who  knows  whether,  if  for  the  Faith  I  wete 
dragged  before  some  tribunal,  I  would  not 
apostatize?  That  happens  to  those  that  are 
negligem    about    little    things. 

Moreover,  the  doubt  alone  is  frightful.  The 
fear  inspired  by  these  words:  "  Who  knows 
whether  he  is  worthy  of  love  or  hate?  " 
terrified   even   Saint   Bernard. 

Let  us,  then,  adopt  the  most  energetic 
means.  Let  us  not  confide  in  our  own  de- 
sires and  resolutions  only,  for  one  is  never 
secure  when  there  is  question  cf  eternity 

Who  knows  whether  I  am  not  already  on 
the  downward  course,  whether  I  am  not 
about  to  lapse  into  mortal  sin? 

To  know  this,  examine  your  most  ordinary 
temptations   and   your   venial   sins.   They  are 


HELL  289 " 

the  little  cords  with  \Vhich  Dalila  bound 
Samson  before  sho  found  out  his  secret. 
He  arose  and  broke  them  easily;  but  one 
day,  he  allowed  himself  to  be  entirely  deluded, 
and  you  know  his  unhappy  end. 

There  are  certain  venial  sins,  certain  temp- 
tations that  almost  always  end  in  mortal  sin. 

First  of  all,  there  are  the  temptations  of 
impurity.  Saint  Alphonsus  di  Liguori  says 
there  is,  perhaps,  not  one  damned  soul  that 
is  not  in  hell  in  consequence  of  impurity,  or 
with    sins    of    impurity 

Then  come  the  sins  of  pride,  above  all, 
of  spiritual  and  satanic  pride,  which  always 
leads  to  apostasy. 

See  to  it,  and  see  hell  at  the  end.  That 
will  make  you  enter  into  yourselves,  and 
you  will,  perhaps,  be  converted. 

If  the  sight  of  hell  on  one  side,  and  that 
^f  the  immense  and  infinite  love  that  God 
bears  us  on  the  other,  no  longer  make  any 
impression  on  us,  we  are  hastening  to  om* 
eternal  perdition!  Let  some  occasion  present 
itself,  and  it  is  all  over  with  usl 

But  I  know  what  some  may  say  to  excuse 


290  HELI. 

themselves  in  their  own  eyes:  "  I  am  a 
religious  of  the  Bkssed  Sacrament  I  am 
living  wilIi  Jesus,  my  Sa\nour  What  have  I 
to  fear? 

Tudas,  also,   lived  with  Jesus. 

"  But  T  love  the  good  God  Judas,  also. 
loved  Our  Lord  in  the  beginning,  but  tepid- 
ity came,  little  by  IJtlle,  and  ovtinguished 
that  love.  Then  he  became  sacrilegious  and 
the    executioner    of    His    Master 

There  were  two  thieves  on  Calvary  One 
was  a  saint,  dechued  such  by  Our  Lord 
Himself,  the  other  was  a  reprobate. 
■  To  live  wiih  Jesus  Christ  in  presence  of 
His  great  Sacrament  of  Love,  is  everything 
for  him  who  desires,  cost  what  it  may,  to 
save  his  soul;  but  it  only  increases  the 
chastisement  of  him  who  there  damns  himself. 
He  falls  from  heaven  as  did  the  rebel  angels. 
He  plunges  with  them  to  the  very  bottom 
of  the  abyss,  and  finds  there  prepared  es- 
pecially for  him  more  cruel  tortures,  very  per- 
sonal torments:  "  Potentes  poteyiter  tormenta 
patientur -The  mighty  shall  mightily  suffer 
torments.  " 


The  MERCY  of  JESUS. 


i 


ET  us  meditate  on  the  goodness  of  Our 
Lord    in    pardoning    us. 

I.  We  have  greatly  offended.  The  days 
of  our  life  are  much  less  numerous  than 
our  sins,  for;  we  can  offend  by  evfery  one 
of  our  thoughts,  and  even  mix  up  sin  with 
our  good  works.  We  should  have  to  despair 
at  having  sinned  so  much,  of  feeling  our- 
selves again  so  borne  to  evil,  if  God  were 
not    infinitely    good. 

If  we  only  offended  Hnn  by  the  pas.sions 
of  our  depraved  nature,  —  but  no,  His  graces. 
His  gifts,  Himself,  we  make  use  of  all  to 
sin.  I  mean  when  we  pride  ourselves  on 
the  graces  of  our  vocation  or  of  our  priest- 
hood. These  faults  cause  Him  double  pain 
because  our  malice  is  greater  as  the  graces 
we  abuse  are  more  excellent.  In  the  next 
place,  He  regards  us  as  His  friends,  and  you 
know  how  much  the  w'ounds  of  a  friend 
make  one  suffer. 

The  malice  of  him  who  abuses  the  choice 


292  THE   MERCY   OF    JESUS 

graces  of  God  is  so  great,  and  men  are 
so  alive  to  the  fact  of  its  deserving  His 
vengeance  that  the  inajoritv'  of  tlinse  that 
fall  after  having  been  loaded  with  special 
privileges  of  grace  by  the  good  God,  remain 
in  evil,  not  so  much  because  they  love  evil 
as  because  they  despair  of  pardon  for  a 
sin  so  great  as  theirs.  Every  sinner,  however. 
must  of  necessity  consider  God  \mder  the 
aspect  'if  His  merc\'.  Before  His  other  attri- 
butes,  His  sanctity.  His  ni-ajesty.  Hi?*  jus- 
tice,   he    would    feel    ci'ushe'd. 

But  wlio  would  not  look  up  with  con- 
fidence [o  Jesus  Christ  so  good,  so  merciful, 
ho  Incarnate  Mercy?  Sinners  used  to  go 
lo  Our  I. on!  without  fear.  They  n\entioned 
their  crimes,  expressed  their  regret,  and  were 
immediately  pardoned. 

One  will  fear  a  man,  however  good  and 
holy  he  may  be,  will  blush  to  confess  to 
him  his  sill,  since  he  feels  that  that  man's 
holiness  is  his  own  condemnation,  and  that  he 
himself  has  not  been  able  to  persevere  in 
good  as  he  has  done.  But  he  goes  to  Jesus 
without  fear,   because  He  is  the  Saviour,  the 


THE  MERCY  OF  JESUS  293 

Physician,  who  came  for  them  who  had  fallen 
He  sees  in  Him,  not  the  aspect  of  a  man, 
still  less  of  an  accuser  or  a  judge.  Jesus  is 
only  mercy  personified.  Jesus  is  formed  of, 
altogether  made  of,  mercy.  Saint  Paul,  telling 
us  this,  says  with  good  reason.  "  The  good- 
ness and  mercy  of  our  God  have  appeared 
in  Jesus  Christ,  the  Saviour.  "  Mercy  is  the 
expression  of  His  thoughts.  His  looks,  His 
words,  His  actions.  He  was  so  governed  by  it 
that  He  was  seen  clothed  only  with  mercy,  in 
order  that  the  most  guilty,  the  most  hardened 
sinners  might  go  to  Him  Our  fathers,  who 
lived  shordy  after  Him,  represented  Him  in 
the  catacombs  under  the  figure  of  Orpheus, 
who  charmed  by  the  music  of  his  lyre  the 
savage  beasts,  attracting  them  to  himself,  and 
holding  them  captive  at  his  feet.  And  thus  Our, 
Lord  drew  sinners.  They  surrounded  Him. 
He  loved  to  find  Hin'vself  in  the  midst 
of  them  and,  by  His  kind  words,  He  touched 
them  and  restored  them  to  life:  "  I  am 
come  only  for  sinners  and  the  lost  sheep.  " 
He  watched  that  this  character  of  His 
mission  shoxild   not   be   changed   under  any 


294  THE   MERCY  OF   JESUS 

circumstance.  When  the  son  of  Zebedee  want- 
ed to  punish  a  guilty  city  for  not  wishing  to 
receive  Hini,  Jesus  reprehende .1  him  severely: 
"  You  know  not  of  what  spirit  you  are! 

He  openly  declared  against  the  malev- 
olence and  calumnies  of  the  Pharisees:  "Not 
they  who  arc  in  health,  but  the  sick  need 
a  physician.  " 

Such  is  His  mission,  to  pardon,  to  save, 
to  show  mercy.  Saint  Paul  says  that  the  Father 
sent  Him  to  show  forth  forever,  llie  super 
abundant  riches  of  His  goodness  and  mercy. 
Take  away  mercy  from  His  character,  and 
Jesus  Christ  no  longeV  exists. 

In  the  institution  of  the  Church  *aad  the 
priesthood.  He  wished  again  to  perpetuate 
forever  His  mercy.  Priests  do  not  exist  to 
give  certificates  of  virtue  to  the  just,  but  to 
absolve   and   console   poor  sinners. 

Behold  Our  Lord  I  Study  now  the  all- 
merciful  circumstances  of  the  pardon  He  ac- 
cords sinners. 

II  He  waits  for  us.  Justice,  unless  il 
shows  itself  weak,  demands  the  punishment 
immediately    after    the    fault.    But   Jesus,    like 


THE  MERCY  OF   JESUS  295 

the  vinedresser  of  the  Gospel,  asks  for  a 
delay.  "  Be  patient!  I  love  this  poor  sin- 
ner, "  -says  Jesus  to  His  Father,  who  is  ready 
to  strike.  "  I  want  to  save  him.  By  dint  of 
care,  I  shall  restore  him  to  righteousness  and 
life.  I  desire  to  make  of  him  a  gem  in 
My  crown  of  Saviour!  "  and  He  enfolds 
him  in  His  arms,  protecting  him  from  blows. 

He  waits  for  us.  Even  while  we  are  in 
sin,  He  5  s  loading  us  with  favors.  Many 
sinners  thereby  deceive  themselves,  taking 
occasion  from  it  to  think  their  sins  du  no 
great  injury  to  God,  since  He  does  not 
punish  them,  whereas,  when  they  have  re- 
turned to  Him,  on  looking  back  they  are 
astonished  at  His  having  been  so  good  as 
to  give  them  time  to  be  converted.  That 
is  the  longanimity  of  mercy,  patient  even  to 
excess! 

Still  more,  God  shows  the  snuicr  greater 
kindness  than  He  did  when  the  latter  fol- 
lowed the  good  way.      ^ 

Many  are  scandalized  at  this.  "  God 
forgets.  His  dignity,  "  they  say.  They  should 
put  His  goodness  above  «very  other  attribute. 


29b  THE   MERCV   OF   JEbUS 


Jesus  has  said  that  for  a  bingle  lost  sheep 
He  would  leave  the  nmety-nine,  and  that 
there  would  be  more  joy  in  heavea  on  the 
return  of  one  sinner  than  lor  the  perseverance 
of   ninety-nuie  just  men 

Ah  I  it  is  very  necessary  for  Our  Lord 
to  show  more  condescension  for  the  poor 
smner  than  for  the  just,  since  he  has  so 
much  more  need  of  it  He  is  at  the  bottom 
of  the  pit,  so  some  one  must  descend  to 
draw  him  out. 

Oh,  how  Jesus  longs  for  the  sinner's  return! 
How  He  endures  the  duty  of  waiting  for 
hinil  He  presents  Himself  to  him.  solicits 
and  torments  his  heart,  until  He  gets  him 
hack  again.  He  is  like  a  mother  who  weeps 
over  her  child,  pursues  it  with  her  tears 
and  caresses,  in  order  to  make  it  leave  the 
evil  path. 

Wo  may  say  that  if  God  \vere  not  infinite 
and  indefatigable  in  His  action,  the  seeking- 
after  sinners  would^  alone  destroy  His  happi- 
ness- and  His  power  Our  Lord,  during  Hi? 
lifetime,  gave  Himself  up  to  the  pursuit  of 
them,  and  the  thought  of  them  always  made 


THE  MERCY  OF  JESUS  297 

Him  sad..  He  often  wept  over  their  misfortune, 
and  all  the  goodness  of  the  just,  not  even 
the  holiness  of  Mary,  could  console  Him. 
Now  He  prays  for  them,  watches  for  their 
coming-,  and  sends  His  angels  in  search  of 
them.  He  moves  heaven  and  earth  to  save 
a  sinner. 

They  say  sometimes  that  it  is  sufficient 
to  be  impious  to  be  long--lived.  We  might 
believe  it  on  seeing  God's  longanimity  toward 
certain  impious  men.  The  Holy  Spirit,  also, 
has  said:  "  The  just  man  dies  in  the  midst 
of  his  good  works,  and  the  impious  man 
lives  long  in  his  iniquity.  "  God  is  waiting 
to  convert  him.  He  permits  him  to  heap  up 
crime  upon  crime  that  He  may  make  of 
him  a  trophy  of  His  mercy.  He  loves  those 
great  strokes  of  grace,  those  miracles  of  His 
mercy.  They  are  feast-days  of  mercy,  holidays 
in  heaven. 

"  God  waits  to  have  pity  on  us.  "  Every 
hour  of  that  waiting  is  a  new  pardon,  a  new 
creation. of  mercy  toward  us,  for  justice  press- 
ingly  urges  its  claims.  It  constanly  demands 
our   death,   which  it   cannot  allow   to   be   de- 

Tbe  Divine  Eucharist.  20 


298  THE  MERCY  OF  JESUS 

ferred.  Every  moment  of  our  life  belongs  to 
God,  and  would  be  sufficient  for  our  death. 
Mercy  snatches  the  sentence  from  Him,  thus 
perpetually  creating  for  us  a  new  life.  Oh, 
what   thanks    do    we    owe    the   divine    mercy! 

What  touches  sinners  more  than  all  else 
IS  that  God  has'  waited  for  them.  "What! 
He  has  preserved  my  life,  which  1  used 
only  to  offend  Him!  "'  and  they  shed  tears  of 
gratitude. 

But  what  shall  we  say  of  His  goodness  hi 
receiving  and  pardoning  us?  Oh,  truly  God's 
mercy  is  too  great!  If  He  severely  reproached 
us  for  our  faults,  if  He  imposed  on  us  pubhc 
penances  as  did  the  Church  in  the  first 
ages,  He  would  still  be  too  good  ni  pardoning 
us  at  that  price.  But  no  reproaches.  Ho 
speaks  to  us  neither  of  our  ingratitude,  n"br 
of  our  cruelty.  He  veils  His  justice,  silences 
it,  in  order  to  show  us  only  His  Heart.  He 
takes  us  in  His  arms,  presses  us  to  His  Heart, 
like  the  Father  of  the  prodigal,  and  tenderly 
embraces  us  with  tears  of  joy.  He  replies 
not  to  our  self-accusation,  or  rather,  He  re- 
plies: "  Bring  him  his  first  robe.    I'ut  a  gold 


THE   MERCY  OF   JESUS  299 

ring  on  his  finger,  and  let  us  make  merry,  for 
my   son  was   dead,   and   he   is   again   alive.  " 

In  the  world,  they  who  solicit  favors  are 
made  to  wait,  but  Jesus  forestalls  us.  lie 
even  gives  us  hope  upon  which  we  dared 
not  count.  He  rouses  our  confidence,  gives  us 
new  life.  The  sweetest  moment  of  all  in  the 
life  of  the  sinner,  the  most  touching,  that 
which  will  ever  make  him  shed  tears  of  joy, 
is  the  moment  of  his  conversion,  when  Jesus 
gives  him  the  assurance  of  pardon,  and  says 
to  him:  "  Go  in  peace!  " 

He  rises  from  agony,  he  resuscitates  from 
the  tomb,  he  is  restored  to  Hfe.  Confession 
has  cost,  but  once  made,  he  experiences 
only  the  joys  of  a  mother  after  bringing 
her  first-born  into  the  world.  He  wants  only 
one  thing,  only  tp  fall  on  his  kness,  to 
weep,  and  to  say :  "  Lord,  I  have  sinned !  J 
do  not  deserve  to  be  pardoned.  "  Then  God 
forgets  all,  pardons  all. 

Look  at  Our  Lord  during  His  life,— how 
well  He  knew  how  to  pardon  I  The  adulterous 
woman  is  there.  Jesus  reproaches  her  with 
nothing,   but   He  humbles   her  accusers    and 


300  THE  MF.RCY   OF   JESUiJ 

pulb  them  to  flight.  He  doeb  not  even  glance 
at  the  woman,  for  fear  of  making  her  blush, 
but    sends    her    away    absolved. 

And  Magdalen— very  far  from  reproaching 
her  with  her  disorders,  He  praises  her,  defends 
her,  and  crowns  her  with  this  word  "  She 
hath  loved  much!  " 

And  now,  heir  of  His  mercy,  the  minister 
of  Jesus  Christ  has  jonly  one  word  to  say 
to  the  repentant  sumer:  "Go  m  peace!  Yo'i 
are  pardoned  forever. 

His  mercy  knows  no  bounds.  The  Lord 
declares  that  He  will  no  more  remember  our 
41ns,  that  He  will  cast  them  behind  Him  into 
the  depths  of  the  sea,  and  that,  were  our 
crimes  red  as  scarlet,  He  would  make  them 
Avhite  as  snow  in  His  mercy. 

The  glor>'  of  the  divine  mercy  is  to  de- 
stroy the  body  of  sin,  and  to  act  so  powerfully 
that  what  it  has  effaced  is  gone  forever.  It 
operates  so  energetically  tliat  it  creates  in  us 
a  new  heart,  a  new  mind,  a  new  being;  and 
if  a  sinner  returns  to  his  crimes  after  ha\ing 
been  once  converted,  he  will  be  judged  only 
for    the    sins    committed    since   his    new   fall, 


THE  MERCY  OF  JESUS  301 

and  not  for  those  that  have  been  forgiven. 

But  then  he  is  more  ungrateful,  more  guilty. 
That  is  true,  and  he  will  be  punished  according- 
to  the  degree  of  his  ingratitude,  but  not  for 
those  sins  that  mercy  has  effaced. 

What  can  the  good  God  do  more  for  sin 
ncrs?  One  might  be  tempted  to  think'  that  He 
is  in  connivance  with  them,  such  goodness 
does  He  show"  them!  Our  Lord  hides  them 
under  His  mantle,  covers  them  with  His  Blood, 
makes  them  enter  into  His  wounds  as  into  a 
refuge  secure  against  irritated  justice.  Like 
a  mother  hiding  her  child  from  the  pursuit 
of  human  justice,  though  even  he  had  made 
an  attempt  on  her  own  life,  because  before 
all  else,  she  is  his  mother,  so  is  Jesus, 
above  all,  a  Saviour. 

To  our  pardon,  Jesus  joins  graces  of  in- 
effable sweetness.  He  depriv^es  us  of  the 
painful  remembrance  of  our  sins.  Instead 
of  keeping  us  in  sentiments  of  continual 
regret.  He  diminishes  our  sorrow,  and  restores 
our  confidence.  He  gives  peacie  and  joy 
to  such  a  degree  that  he  who  confesses 
in    shame   and    tears,    rises    so    happy    after 


302  THF,   MF.RCV   OF    JESUS 

t+ie    abspluiion    that    he    is    quite    astonished. 

In  the  world,  a  man  released  from  prison 
is  always  marked  by  dishonor  and  a  had 
name.  But  Jesus  rohnbilitatcs  those  thnt  Tie 
pardons-  He  treats  them  as  if  they  had  never 
offended  Iliin,  and  frequently  the  greater 
sinners  become  the  greatest  saints. 

Saint  Paul  wrote,  to  the  gloi-y  of  mercv. 
that  he  had  been  a  blasphemer  and  a  perse- 
cutor, the  greatest  of  sinners.  But  Our  Lord 
called  him  a  vessel   of  election. 

Saint  Peter  received,  in  return  for  his  triple 
denial,  the  triple  crown  of  his  tiara.  <  )ur 
Loid  knows  how  to  pardon  as  God. 

And  we  ourselves,  despite  our  sins  -has  He 
not  honored  us  with  the  priesthood,  the  re- 
ligious life,  chosen  graces,  graces  of  honor? 
Has  He  not  crowned  us  with  glory  and  honor, 
and  Covered  us  with  the  buckler  of  His 
benevolent  preference?  He  has  forgotten  all. 
He  even  forgets  our  present  miseries,  and 
that  we  still  offend  Him  in  spite  of  His 
so  great   love. 

But  it  is  not  for  us  to  forget!  Let  cis 
live    on   gratitude   and    love    for   this    mercy. 


THE  MERCY  Of  JESUS  303 

Let  us  count  only  on  it,  for  it  is  thanks 
to  it  that  we  have  not  been  condemmed 
forever  like  so  many  others:  "  Misericordia 
Dormni  quia  non  smnus  consumpti!  —  The 
mercy  of  the  Lord  thai  we  have  not  been 
consumed.  " 


i^iS^SjS&S&i^fS&&i&^^^^^^*^ii^J^^f&n 


BLESSED  SACRAMENT. 


^      The   FAMILY  Of  the  MOST      ]^ 


N  French,  we  no  longer  make  use  of  the 
word  family  to  designate  the  servants  of 
a  person.  We  restrict  that  term,  to  the 
members  related  by  blood  or  affinity.  But 
the  Church  has  preserved  that  signification 
and,  at  Rome,  the  Pontifical  family  comprises 
all  officials  attached  to  the  person  of  the 
Holy  Father. 

Now,    Our   Lord   has    called   us   to   be   His 
servants.    His    familiars.    We    have    come    to 
serve    His    Divine    Pers6n,  to    the    exclusion 
of    every    other   function.    Let   us    understand 
well  this  essential  condition  of  our  vocation. 
All    Christians    arc    the    servants    of    God, 
but  some  serve  Him  in  the  world  according 
to    the    law    of    the    Commandments     while 
retaining    their    liberty    for    all    other    things. 
They  give  the  intention  to  God,  but  resen'e 
for  themselves  the  action.  Provided  the  mten 
tion     refers    their    actions    to    a    good    end, 
approved   by   God,    they  may  labor  at   their 


THE    BLESSED    SACRAMENT      305 

own  interests  and  according-  to  their  own 
tastes.  They  have  a  mixed  end,  and  they 
labor  for  it  at  the  same  time.  Nothing 
more  legitimate.  At  certain  times  only,  when 
ihare  is  question  of  salvation,  God  orders 
them  to  prefer  Him  to  all  other  interests, 
that  is  when  those  interests  are  opposed  to 
their  salvation.  Then  they  must  sacrifice  every- 
thing,   in    order  to   remain  faithful   to   Him. 

But  Our  Lord  chose  in  the  world  another 
class  of  servants,  who  make  profession 
of  laboring  only  for  His  interests.  These 
are  religious,  who  take  the  place  of  the 
seventy-two  disciples  and  the  twelve  Apostias, 
whom  He  had  chosen  from  among  all  others 
during    His    lifetime 

Now,  among  religious,  -.omc  are  attached 
to  His  mission,  others  to  His  Person.  The 
former  spread  His  teachings;  the  latter  serve 
?Iim  as  a  King,  a  royal  person  is  served, 
for  Our  Lord  still  lives  among  us.  He  is 
in  the  Most  Blessed  Sacrament  to  exercise 
His  priesthood.  He  is  there  as  God  and 
Man.  DoQs  not  this  Presence  call  for  a 
special,  service,   a  court,  a  family,  which  has 


306  THE    FAMILY   OF 

no  other  occupation  than  lo  serve  the  great 
Kino-  ? 

Ah,  well!  This  is  what  iho  Society  f>f 
the  Most  Blessed  Sacrament  proposes  to  it- 
self. By  the  authority  of  His  Vicar,  Our  Lord 
has  given  to  it  this  peculiar  and  special  end, 
to  serve  the  Person  of  Jesus  Christ,  to  live 
around  Him,  to  compose  His  court  and  His 
suite  in  such  a  way  that  we  never  quit  Him, 
and  thai  He  may  never  appear  without  His 
servants,  who  have  no  other  duty  than  to 
follow  Him  and  serve  Him. 

He  has  called  us  to  enter  into  this  family 
of  His  domestics.  You  came  preferring  this 
noble  and  beautiful  servitude  to  all  the  em- 
ployments in  the  Church,  to  which  you  might 
have  aspired  for  His  glory.  But  it  is  all  for 
Him,  all  through  Him,  ad  on  account  of 
Him.  Vou  must  work  for  Him  alcne,  leaving 
all  other  employments  lo  others,  living  but 
for  Him^  and  not  for  your  own  zeal  and 
works.  As  a  domestic  on  entering  the  service 
of  His  Lord,  becomes  the  property  of  his 
master  and  clothes  himself  with  his  liver>', 
so  you  will  lose  your  name  and  personality. 


THE   BLESSED   SACRAMENT     307 

You  have  promised  this,  perhaps  without  well 
comprehending-  to  what  you  have  engaged 
yourself.    Now,    pay   strict   attention. 

This  entire  and  absolute  service  was  the 
condition  of  your  admission.  It  ought  to 
be  the  law  of  your  life.  The  perfection  of 
your  sanctity  is  to  serve.  Your  talents  and 
virtues,  your  qualifications  and  yotir  priest- 
hood, —  all  oiig-ht  to  be  confounded  under 
the  name  of  service  and  be  nothing  more 
than  acts  of  it.  You  are  no  longer  anything 
else  than  a  servant,  a  domestic,  one  of  the 
family  of  Our  Lord  in  His  royal  Sacrament. 

I  will  say  without  hesitation  that  the  way 
Our  Lord  wants  us  to  be  with  Him  is  like 
to  that  of  the  Apostles,  for  they,  too,  were, 
and  far  more  than  the  seventy-two  disciples, 
the  family  of  Our  Lord  when  living  on  this 
earth.  Besides  that  their  personal  service 
ceased  at  the  death  of  Our  Lord,  because  they 
had  then  to  scatter  in  order  to  announce  His 
reign  and  found  the  Church,  there  are  be- 
tween their  service  and  ours  other  differences 
which  it  is  well  to  note,  the  better  to  un- 
derstand  how  much   Our   Lord  wa-nts  us   for 


308  THE    FAMILY   OF 

Himself,  exclusively  ior  Himself  in  His 
Eucharistic  life,  which  will  end  only  with 
the   world. 

n.  The  Apostles  follQwed  Our  Lord  to 
be  instructed  by  Him,  They  were  pupils 
of  His  teaching-  and  examples,  and  they  had 
to  study  them  deeply  in  order  to  repeat 
them  to  the  Church  and  preach  them  every- 
where. 

We  'do  not  come  to  be  instructed,  but  to 
serve  Our  Lord.  We  come  but  to  give  Him 
all  that  wc  have  and  all  that  we  are.  We 
come  for  Him,  not  for  ourselves.  No  doubt, 
lie  has  to  instruct  us,  and  even  to  teach  us 
the  manner  of  serving  Tlim,  for  who  knows 
anything  that  he  has  not  learned  from  the 
grace  of  Jesus  Christ?  But  1  wish  to  say 
that  the  first  and  dominant  end  of  our 
vocation  is,  not  to  come  to  acquire  some- 
thing, but  to  consume  ourselves  in  His  service. 

The  Apostles  generally  followed  Our  Lord 
in  His  missions,  as  well  in  Jerusalem  as  in 
the  towns  of  Judea  and  Galilee.  But  He 
separated  from  them  at  times,  and  sent  them, 
too,  on  missions  far  from  Him. 


THE   BLESSED    SACRAMENT     309 

As  for  us,  we  cannot  separate  even  one 
moment  from  Our  Lord;  that  is,  under  pain 
of  failing  in  its  end,  the  Society  ought  always 
to  be  with  Him  in  the  person  of  some  of  its 
members,  for  Our  Lord  cannot  be  exposed 
without  adorers,  and  we  are  the  adorers 
under  obligation  of  attendance  on  Him.  As  in 
heaven,  there  are  angels  who  are  never  sent 
down  to  earth,  but  who  are  constantly  around 
the  throne  of  God,  so  ought  we  always  to 
surround  His  Eucharistic  throne.  We  exist 
only  for  that.  If  the  Eucharist  were  to  be 
taken  away  'from  earth,  if  Exposition  could 
no  longer  be  carried  on,  the  Society  would 
have  no  reason  for  existence,  because  its 
essential  end  would  be  destroyed. 

The  Aposdes  were  fed  and  entertained  by 
Our  Lord,  but  they  did  not  feed  Him.  This 
Master  furnished  them  with  necessaries,  and 
often  served  them  Himself. 

But  we,  we  both  feed  Him  and  entertain 
Him.  It  is  our  beautiful  privilege  to  give 
Him  a  throne  and  ornaments.  Those  flow- 
ers, those  lights,  which  must  always  adorn 
His  throne,  and  which  are  like  the  rich  tap- 


310  THE    FAMILY   OF 

cstry  that  He  Avished  to  be  hung  in  the 
Cenacle,  are  given  to  Him  by  us.  If  we 
uwn  something,  the  best  of  it  is  for  Him,  the 
leavings  for  us.  By  this  we  afford  Him  the 
means  of  manifesting  His  royalty,  and  of 
solemnly  fulfilling  His  office  x>f  Mediator  be- 
tween earth  and  heaven,  of  Ambassador  from 
the  Church   to  the   Father. 

We  must  add  the  interior  ornamentation, 
the  spiritual  nourishment,  for  Our  Lord  desires 
that  worship  far  more  than  the  other.  He 
wishes  to  be  nourished  with  acts  of  love, 
faith,  and  reparation.  All  our  virtues  are  for 
Him,  and  not  for  ourselves.  We  ought  to 
offer  Him  all  their  merits,  for  .He  is  the 
Master,  the  Owner  of  our  soul,  and  all 
the  actions  of  a  servant  are  for  his  master. 
If  we  do  not  give  to  Our  Lord  this  spir 
itual  nourishment,  we  deprive  Him  of  what 
He  chiefly  desires,  for  it  is  our  soul  that  He 
most  longs  for. 

Again,  He  expects  His  glory  from  us,  and 
we  ought  to  procure  it  by  every  means  in 
our  power,  above  all  by  fidelity,  recollec- 
tion  in   this   service,   for   the   good   behavior 


THE    BLESSED   SACRAMENT     311 

of    servants    is    the     glory    of   their    master. 

Behold  in  what  our  service  before  Our 
Lord  differs  from  that  of  the  Apostles.  But 
He  offers  us  the  highest  advantages,  if  wc 
know    how    to    reap    them.    Listen    to    them! 

III.  The  Apostles  became  the  friends  and 
confidants  of  Our  Lord.  He  had  no  secrets 
from  them.  "  T  call  you  not  only  My  ser- 
vants, but  My  friends,  because  all  things 
whatsoever  I  have  heard  of  My  Father, 
1    have    made    known    to   you.  " 

The  Gospel  relates  some  of  the  confi- 
dential communications  that  He  made  to 
them.  Doubtless,  they  received  many  others, 
but  they  kept  them,  pondering  them  in  their 
own  heart. 

Well,  in  the  life  of  adoration  docs  not 
Our  Lord  reveal  to  us  His  secrets?  If  we 
do  not  hear  them^.  it  is  our  own  fault, 
for  we  do  not  listen.  But  we  have  an 
actual  right  to  them  springing  from  our 
familiarity  with  Jesus.  The  secrets  that  He 
desires  to  impart  to  us  are  sweeter  and 
closer  even  than  those  that  He  confided 
to  the  -Apostles,  because  they  arc  made  heart 


312  THE    FAMILY   OF 

to  heart  without  the  intermedium  of  the  senses. 
Many  of  those  secrets  remained  obscure  to  the 
Apostles  until  Pentecost.  But  the  Holy  Ghost 
came.  He  cleared  away  difficulties  concern- 
ing the  Eucharist.  He  inhabits  that  Cen- 
acle  of  love.  Nothing-  can  prevent  our  under- 
standing all  the  secrets  of  Our  Lord,  nothing 
but  our  own  infidelity.  But  if  we  were 
faithful,  we  should  receive  more  intimate 
communications  than  did  the  saints.  When 
we  are  some  time  with  any  one,  we  come 
to  know  all  his  thoughts.  All  that  is  neces- 
sary is  a  persevermg  and  earnest  fidelity. 
We  must  be  faithful  to  union  with  Him  Saint 
Magdalen  of  Pazri  had  made  for  herself  a 
cell  in  the  tribune  of  the  church,  in  order 
never  to  quit  Our  Lord.  Thus  it  was  that 
the  saints  came  to  know  all  the  secrets  oi 
His  Heart. 

Be  interior,  assiduous  in  your  converse 
with  Jesus,  and  you,  too,  will  have  His 
secrets.  Living  under  the  same  roof  breaks 
down  all  estrangement,  both  in  good  as  in 
evil. 

Sambon  lived   a  long  time  without  reveal- 


THE   BLESSED    SACRAMENT     313 

ing  his  secret;  but  he  took  a  wife  from 
iSmong  the  Philistines.  Daily  intercourse 
pierced  through  all  veils  and,  little  by 
little,  he  allowed  himself  to  be  surprised. 
It    was   for   his    own   destruction,. 

If  we  were  truly  men  of  adoration, 
we  could  touch,  as  it  were,  with  the  finger, 
the  Heart  of  Our  Lord,  we  could  read 
in  His  Soull 

Do  we  not  feel  something  when  we  come 
to  adoration  purified  and  prepared  by  some 
sacrifices  that-  have  cost?  How  quickly  then 
the  hour  flies  1  It  is  Thabor  where  Jesus 
silently  reveals  Himself  to  your  soul,  and 
ravishes  you  with  joy  and  happiness.  Then 
you  have  no  need  of  words,  for  Jesus  speaks 
sufficiently.  You  say  nothing,  but  you  are 
making  a  sublime  prayer. 

This  is  your  portion  as  an  adorer.  Why 
do  you  not  cultivate  it  more?  As  I  say 
to  you  often:  Pray  from  your  own  soul,  by 
your  own  grace  and  your  heart  of  an  ador- 
erf  Put  aside  for  awhile  all  those  books  of 
devotion,  unless  sleep  or  sloth  prevent  your 
praying.    Know  your   own  profession.    Make 

The  Divine  Euchaiist.  a» 


314  THE    FAMILY   OF 

use  of  your  right  as  an  adorer,  and  go  to  Our 
Lord  by  your  position,  your  title  of  one 
of    His    household. 

Moreover,  the  Apostles  were  the  heirs 
of  Our  Lord.  They  received  from  Him  the 
price  of  Redemption  to  spread  it  all  over 
the  world,  the  fruits  of  His  Blood,  His 
Sacraments,  the  power  of  His  word,  the 
infallibility  of  His  doctrine,  and  the  grace 
of  His  miracles.  To-day,  they  are  the  heirs 
of  His  glory  in  heaven.  But  they  were, 
also,    the   heirs   of   His   sufferings   and   death. 

I  say  that  Our  Lord  wants  to  give  us 
ail  that  in  the  order  of  our  vocation.  We 
have  not  to  convert  the  world  to  the  Faith; 
our  mission  is  connected  with  Our  Lord's 
sacramental  state.  We  ought  to  be  apostles, 
ministers,  instruments  of  the  Eucharist-; 
and  as  the  Apostles  received  the  grace  to 
preach  the  Cross.  Our  Lord  gives  us  the 
grace  to  preach  the  Eucharist.  The  Eucha- 
rist ought  to  be  our  centre,  our  life,  our 
strength  of  action  and  apostolate.  If  a  i^li 
gious  of  the  Bless'ed  Sacrament  were  put 
under    the    wine-press,    he    should    come    out 


THE   BLESSED    SACRAMENT     315 

a  host !  Our  Eucharistic  g:races  are  first  and 
foremost  for  the  v/orid,  therefore,  we  expose 
Our  Lord  in  the  cities  that  people  may  see 
Him    and    come   to    adore    Him. 

We  ought  to  preach  the  Eucharist  by  our 
works,  our  writings,  and  our  words.  No 
one  ought  to  speak  better  of  the  Eucharist 
than  we.  We  are  Its  religious.  Who  has 
better  spoken  of  Our  Lord  than  the  Evan- 
gelists? They  lived  with  Him! 

Yes,  no  one  ought  to  speak  more  or  better 
of  tlie  Eucharist  than  we;  not  by  way  of 
boasting,  but  because  it  is  our  profession. 
It  will  ever  be  so,  I  hope. 

I  cannot  understand  how  a  religious  of 
the  Blessed  Sacrament  could  desire  to  excel 
in  any  other  science  than  that  of  the  Eucha- 
rist. Our  state  is  the  Eucharist.  If  wc 
do  not  know  how  to  make  everything  tend 
to  It,  wc  have  not  the  science  belonging  to 
oar  state. 

Some  ignore  the  Eucharist!  they  do  not 
preach  It!  The  Faithful  complain  of  this, 
and  look  for  those  that  will  distribute  to 
them    this    word    of    true    life.     If    preachers 


316  THE    FAMILY   OF 

do  not  preach  It,  it  is  because  their  heart 
does  not  know  It.  It  preachers  would  adore 
It  more,  they  would  preach  It  more,  also. 
And  yet  there  is  no  salvation  but  in  Jesus 
Clirist  present  among  us. 

For  you  who  are  not  priests,  my  brethren, 
but  who  are,  however,  adorers,  you  ought 
to  talk  among  yourselves  of  the  Blessed 
Sacrament  and  of  all  that  relates  to  Its 
honor.  Speak  of  It  before  strangers,  preaclj 
It  in  some  sort  in  your  conversation.  Where 
is  the  artisan  who  does  not  frequently  speak 
of  his  trade? 

As  Saint  Paul  desired  to  know  but  Jesus 
Christ,  and  Jesus  crucified,  so  we  ought  to 
know  only  the  Blessed  Sacrament;  otherwise, 
we  are  not  yet  in  the  plenitude  of  our  grace. 
Remember  you  are  called  to  set  fire  to  the 
four  quarters  of  the  world  with  the  burning 
torch   of   Jesus    exposed    on    the   altars! 

And  the  miracles  ?— You  will  perform  spir 
itual  miracles.  You  will  cure  souls  by  virtue 
of  the  Eucharist.  Oh,  how  powerful  It  is 
to  touch,  to  convert,  to  lead  back  to  God 
souls  furthest  removed  from  Himl     But  know 


THE   BLESSED    SACRAMENT  ^  317 

how  to  apply  It.  Show  Its  goodness.  Draw 
forth  from  It  the  salutary  sap  and  all  Its 
virtue  to  cure  souls.  You  have  in  the  Eucha- 
rist the  unique  and  sovereign  remedy,  as 
says  the  Church  in  the  post-communion  on 
the  Feast  of  Saint  Magdalen. 

You  have  Our  Lord  for  bodily  cures,  also. 
He  is  the  divine  ointment  that  cures  every 
wound.  Did  not  virtue  escape  fro'm  His  Sacred 
Humanity,  curing  every  disease?  It  was 
necessary  pnly  to  touch  Him  to  be  healed. 
Has  His  power  grown  less?  Is  not  contact 
with   Him   always  as   helpful? 

I  tell  you  that  the  little  lamp  which  burns 
before  Our  Lord  has  never  failed  to  cure 
those  that,  in  their  infirmities,  have  been 
anointed  with  its  oil,  which  is  faith  and  love. 

God  preserve  us  from  those  miracles  in 
which  is  seen  the  hand  of  man !  Wc  must 
then  hide,  for  fear  they  should  adore  us 
more  than  the  Master.  But  you  will  perform 
miracles  through  Christ,  through  His  Sacra- 
ment, if  you  have  sufficient  faith  in  Him. 
We  must  oblige  Our  Lord  to  manifest  Him- 
self   gloriously,    that  .all    may    know    that    it 


318  THE    FAMILY   OF 

is    He    who,    in    His    great    love,    is    hiding 
Himself    behind    those    veils. 

God  keep  us,  also,  from  those  magnificent 
and  illustrious  preachers  capable  of  filling 
the  world  with  their  renown!  Such  men  re- 
main strangers  to  the  knowledge  of  the  Most 
Blessed  Sacrament.  They  stammer  when 
speaking  of   the   Eucharist. 

The  science  of  the  Blessed  Sacrament  will 
always  be  sufficient  for  your  sermons,  for 
It  can  never  be  exhausted.  Study  It.  serve 
It  well,  love  It  generously,  and  you  will  find 
everything  in  the  Eucharist,  the  fiery  word, 
knowledge,  and  miracles. 

Yes,  even  miracles.  No  one  has  ever  been 
recommended  to  the  Most  Blessed  Sacra- 
ment without  receiving  the  grace  that  he 
asked.  Our  Lord  does  but  keep  His  word. 
The  first  day  that  we  placed  Him  upon 
His  throne,  we  asked  Him  for  what  He  had 
granted  Solomon  for  the  Temple,  namely, 
that  He  would  be  pleased  to  accord  the  same 
to  His  sanctuaries,  in  order  to  make  Himself 
known,  and  to  bring  to  Him,  the  whole 
world. 


THE   BLESSED   SACRAMENT     319 

We  said  to  Him:  "Honor  this  house  by 
the  manifestation  of  Thy  glory  and  goodness, 
that  all  may  come<here,  and  that  not  one  of 
those  that  enter  to  solicit  a  favor  may  go 
away  without  being  heard  favorably.  "  As 
for  myself,  I  have  never  yet  had  a  refusal 
from  Our  Lord. 

In  fine,  the  Apostles  received  the  solemn 
promise  of  the  kmgdom  of  heaven,  and  all 
died  martyrs.  There  have  been  few  martyrs 
of  the  Blessed  Sacrament,  such  as  the  young 
Tarcisius  in  the  early  ages,  and  the  martyrs 
of  Gorcum.  There  will  be  more,   I   hope. 

At  all  events,  there  will  be  martyrs  of 
love.  I  think  that  we  ought  to  die  on  the 
pric-Dieu,  at  the  feet  of  Our  Lord.  He 
who  shall  have  fallen  there,  will  be  well 
received  in  heaven.  This  would  be  only  to 
exchange  the  service  of  grace  for  the  service 
of  glory  in  full  possession.  How  happy,  then, 
we  ought  to  be  in  so  holy  a  vocation ! 
We  take  the  place  of  the  Apostles  around 
His  Person,  and  it  appears  that  we  receive 
more  graces,  and  that  the  effusion  of  His 
goodness  is  greater.     We  arc  bound  to  Him 


320  THE  BLESSED  SACRAMENT 


as  servants.  He  makes  not  a  movement  with- 
out us.  His  love  wills  to  depend  on  our 
care  and  our  presence. 

Saint  Peter  showed  to  the  Jews  Calvary- 
still  reeking  with  the  Blood  of  Jesus  Christ; 
we  point  out  the  Sacrament  full  of  life  and 
love  for  men,  and  we  give   It  to  all. 

Like  us,  the  Apostles  could  not  expose 
the  Eucharist.  They  were  even  obliged  to 
hide  It,  on  account  of  the  persecutions.  The 
time  for  the  Eucharist  had  not  yet  come. 
The  world  had  to  be  conquered  by  the 
Cross  of  Jesus  Christ  before  elevating  Him 
on  a  throne  to  reign.  But  to-day,  He  desires 
to  manifest  Himself,  He  wishes  to  reign 
everywhere.  The  age  of  the  Eucharist  is 
opening.  Ah!  ask  for  the  extension  of  the 
reign  of  Jesus  Christ  in  the  Blessed  Sacra- 
ment. Beg  Him  to  form  for  Himself  servants 
and  Apostles  of  His  reign  of  love,  that  He 
may  be  well-known,  loved,  and  served  by 
all.  Adveniat  regniim  tuum! 


LOVE,  the  PRINCIPLE  of  the 


SPIRITUAL  COMBAT. 


^ 


'hat  must  we  do  to  belong  entirely  to 
Our  Lord,  and  to  make  progress  in  His 
service?- 

I  answer  in  one  word :  We  must  combat 
through  love  for  Him,  and  in  the  strength  of 
that  love,  everything  that  is  opposed  to  His 
reign  and  to  His  life  in  us. 

I.  Man  is  faced  by  two  laws :  the  love  of 
God  and  the  love  of  self.  These  two  loves 
are  forever  at  war.  One  of  the  two  must  be 
obeyed.  A  choice  must  be  made  of  one  or 
the    other.    Neutrality    is    impossible. 

An  habitually  virtuous  life  does  not  end  the 
combat.  We  are  a  balance.  The  more  holy 
we  become  and  rise  toward  God,  the  more  are 
we  combated  and  dragged  down  by  self-love. 

You  have  chosen  the  love  of  Jesus  Christ. 
Well,  then,  He  must  be  your  iaw,  your  model, 
your  centre,  and  your  end  I  To  live  for  Him, 
you  must  live  of  Him  and  by  Him. 

This   demands  that  we  should  declare  war 


322  LOVE,    THE    PRINCIPLE 

agaist  the  human  ego,  against  self-love;  that 
we  must  clothe  ourselves  with  the  strength  of 
divine  love,  which  is  stronger  than  death; 
against  ourselves,  against  all  things.  But  this 
force  must  be  regulated  and  directed.  We 
must  combat  courageously  and  be  skilful  in 
employing  the  best  means. 

How  shall  we  get  that  strength?  Through 
Jesus  Christ:  Omnia  possum  in  co  qui  me 
confortat. 

This  force  is  a  constant  necessity  at  every 
instant,  Jiever  any  rest.  The  old  man  is  never 
slain.  "We  may  chain  him,;  arrest  him  in  one 
or  other  of  his  eager  desires,  but  he  will 
reappear  in  something  else.  We  must  always 
begin  anew,  always  use  fresh  vigilance.  They 
who  do  not  start  from  this  principle  are 
already  conquered  by  a  false  peace. 

Strength  consists  in  the  love  of  God:  For- 
tis  ut  mors  dilectio.  Jesus  Christ  must  be 
loved  sovereignly,  universally,  absolutely. 
Nothing  must  be  put  above  Him,  nothing  on 
a  par  with  Him.  This  demands  a  complete 
sacrifice  of  self-love,  which  is  always  crying 
out:   "  i .'    for  7«e.'"    We  must  reply:   ''Our 


OF    THE   SPIRITUAL    COMBAT  323 

Lord!  What  does  Our  Lord  want?  \\'hat 
does  He  not  want?  "  That  once  known,  ought 
to  be  sufficient  to  determine  our  action.  His 
will,  His  glory.  His  pleasure,  behold  our  law, 
our  word  of  command.  Well  understood,  the 
word   of   command    msures   victory. 

n  The  first  combat  to  which  we  must 
deliver  ourselves,  through  the  strength  of  the 
love  of  Jesus  Christ,  is  in  the  mind;  to  will 
or  not  to  will,  to  determine  interiorly,  to 
place  one's  soul  in  the  state  of  refusal  or 
acceptance  There  all  begins.  The  combat 
in  action  is  only  secondary,  and  its  result 
depends  on  the  first  interior  combat.  God 
is  a  spirit,  and  our  soul  made  to  His  image,  is 
our  principle,  our  sovereign  principle  and 
moving  power.  Its  acts  are,  then,  most  im- 
portant. They  are  those  that  are  crowned  or 
punished,  for  even  good  works,  unless  they 
spring  from  a  pure  intention,  are. of  no  worth 
before  God.  What  He  demands,  above  all, 
is  the  gift  of  our  soul,  its  submission  to  His 
lafw.  It  is  for  this  reason  that  the  demon  is 
constantly   attacking    the   interior   will,    trying 


324  LOVE,    THE    PRINCIPLE 

to    blind    it,    to    weaken    it,    if     he     cannot 
corrupt  it  altogether. 

Pride  and  the  seven  capital  sins,  are,  above 
all,  spiritual;  and  if  we  do  not  repulse  them 
in  our  mind,  we  are  lost.  It  is  the  mind  that 
directs  life,  it  is  the  starting-jwint  of  our 
actions. 

Watch,  then,  over  your  thoughts,  over  your 
imagination  which  suggests  them.  Watch 
over'  all  your  thoughts,  even  over  those  that, 
having  a  praiseworthy  end,  leave,  nevertheless, 
I  know  not  what  ill-defined  disquietude. 
Watch!  for  in  mental  combats,  even  peevish- 
ness, a  single  voluntary  pause  in  the  struggle, 
means  defeat,  and  we  are  caught.  One  instant 
is  sufficient  for  either  defeat  or  victory. 

Know  how  to  say  yes  or  no;  no  examining, 
no  hesitation.  Be  not  of  those  loitering, 
misty,  muddy  minds  that  want  to  see  how 
far  their  evil  thoughts  will  carry  them,  that 
want  to  analyze  them,  that  pause  only  when 
the  case  becomes  grave,  and  that  rouse  them- 
selves only  after  being  wounded.  Refined 
souls  perceive  the  evil  at  its  first  appearance. 
When  a  thought  goes  so  far  as  to  creep  into 


OF    THE   SPIRITUAL    COMBAT  325 

your  mind,  you  are  already  conquered.  Some 
want  to  know  how  it  will  turn  out,  they 
want  to  enjoy  it  just  a  little.  The  whole  of 
it?  Oh,  no,  but  only  the  least  bit  of  it,  like 
one  who  would  not  dishonor  herself,  but  who 
would  allow  herself  to  be  flattered,  who  would 
like  to  know  how  far  she  is  loved,  —  she  is 
already   lost! 

We  amuse  ourselves  with  the  evil  thought  by 
half-glances,  half-consent.  Is  it  any  wonder 
that  our  conscience  is  always  troubled?  Re- 
member that  the  most  frequent  sins  are  those 
of  the  mind,  of  the  imagination,  of  pride, 
vanity,  impatience,  or  of  interior  sensuality, 
for  we  have  not  the  opportunity  to  sin  ma- 
terially, nor  would  we  go  so  far! 

If  our  adorations  are  so  badly  made,  if  we 
experience  nothing  in  them,  it  is  because  ouf 
poor  mind  is  harassed  by  all  kinds  of  nat- 
ural, human,  frivolous,  or  bad  thoughts,  which 
we  habitually  entertain  there.  It  has  no 
longer  the  strength,  the  courage  to  look  up 
to    Heaven. 

III.  The  second  combat  is  that  of  the 
heart.    The   heart    is   a   blind  faculty,    which 


326  LOVE,    THE    PRINCIPLE 

readily  attaches  itself  to  everything  that  is 
allowed  to  touch  it. 

The  good  attracts  wherever  it  is  seen,  and 
it  is  very  quick  to  attach  to  itself  souls  in 
whom  is  found  piety,  above  all,  unctuous 
piety  joined  to  an  expansive  nature. 

It  is  very  dangerous  to  converse  even  with 
human  angels.  They  have  ever>thing  to 
attract  our  heart,  one  same  love,  one  same 
piety,  an  identical  fund  of  good,  which  creates 
purely  natural  sympathy.  The  devil  makes 
use  of  this  to  distract  us  from  the  soul  to 
the  senses,  from  the  things  of  God  to  the 
things  of  man.  Water  and  earth  are  two 
very  pure  elements.  Mix  them  together,  and 
they  become  mud. 

One  suspects  no  danger,  because  that  person 
is  so  good,  so  devoted  at  heart  to  the  good 
God.  lie  assures  himself  at  any  rate  and 
silences  prudential  fear  by  the  thought  of 
his  own  good  intentions.  In  times  of  sadness, 
above  all,  in  trials  interior  or  otherwise,  they 
look  to  one  another  for  kind  words,  for  con- 
solation. They  love  to  encourage  one  another, 
to   hear   one   another   say   that   he   or   she   is 


OF    THE   SPIRITUAL    COMBAT  327 

good,,  that  he  has  zeal,  virtue,  that  he  succeeds. 
They  love  to  receive  grateful  acknowledgments 
for  the  good  they  have  really  done  each 
other,  —  and  here  lies  the  danger. 

Accustomed  to  burn  with  the  love  of  God, 
and  feeling  that  flame  no  more,  one  cannot 
support  the  privation.  He  must  pour  out  that 
heart  which  is  accustomed  to  do  so.  The 
bosom  of  God  being  closed,  he  pours  it  into 
that  of  the  creature,  and  all  very  holily, 
without  intending  any  evil,  without  even  seeing 
it  very  clearly,  or,  at  least,  without  wishing  to 
confess  it  even  to  himself.  Oh,  to  what  that 
often  leads  I  How  easily  he  falls  from  God  to 
the  creature,  from  supernatural  love  to  na- 
tural   love  I 

You  must,  then,  act  energetically  against 
this  inclination,  these  natural  sympathies  of 
the  heart.  Take  it  into  your  hands,  shut  it 
up,  aod  let  no  one  occupy  it  naturally  any 
more  than  your  thoughts.  Give  it  entirely 
to  God  and  to  Him  alone.  Let  no  one  pene- 
trate into  it,  not  even  for  a  moment;  other- 
wise, you  will  have  tempests  and  thunderbolts, 
and  you  risk  being  submerged. 


328  LOVE,    THE    PRINCIPLE 

God  demands  of  you  your  heart.  He  wishes 
It  absolutely.  If  you  refuse  it  to  Him,  you 
refuse  Him  everything,  and  there  can  no 
longer  be  vmion  between  you  and  Him.  The 
heart  is  our  whole  self,  our  joys,  our  trials, 
our  affections.  God  wishes  all  these,  or  noth- 
mg.  When  there  is  question  of  final  love, 
there  is  none  to  share  with  the  neighbor 
God  wants  our  whole  heart,  and  consents  to 
divide  it  with  no  one.  Certainly,  it  is  not  too 
great!  Give  it  to  Him  whole  and  entire.  If 
you  break  it  into  parts,  know  that  the  creature 
will  always  get  more  than  the  Creator. 

Vou  should  no  longer  love  any  one  with 
a  love  purely  personal.  You  should  no  longer 
do  for  him  what  affords  you  pleasure  of  which 
he  is  the  end.  None  of  your  sympathies,  none 
of  your  affections  may  henceforth  be  given  to 
the  creature,  may  rest  in  him,  otherwise  you 
belong  not  to  Our  Lord.  You  are  only  a 
pagan  in  religion,  for  a  pagan  is  one  who 
adores  the  creature. 

Shall  I,  then,  no  longer  love  my  neighbor? 
—  Supernaturally,  yes!  with  a  love  that  rests 
not   m   him    but   goes   to   God  in  him.  That 


OF   THE   SPIRITUAL   COMBAT  329 

is  well.  But  with  a  final  love,  which  gives 
Itself,  no!  You  will  give  to  the  neighbor  the 
acts  and  the  fruits  of  charity;  but  the  heart, 
the  tree  that  produces  them,  Our  Lord  alone 
wants  to  possess.  You  will  still  be  a  son, 
you  will  communicate  flames  to  your  rela- 
tives and  friends;  but  the  furnace,  for  God 
alone. 

See  how  far  that  goes!  If  any  one  loves 
you  naturally,  on  account  of  your  qualities, 
you  should  say  to  him  "  I  know  you  not! 
You  are  deceiving  yourself  in  attaching  your- 
self to  me.  I  no  longer  have  a  natural  exis- 
tence. I  have  given  my  peison  and  my  heart 
to  Jesus  Christ:  He  alone  lives  in  me.  You 
would  make  me  a  man  again?  — -Never! 
I  want  no  more  to  be  1  myself,  and  yoUy 
you  love  this  I!  I  want  no  longer  to  be 
treated  as  one  who  belongs  to  himself, 
who  can  give  and  receive.  Seek  in  me  Jesus 
Christ,  for  it  is  He  whom  I  have  chosen 
to  be  the  Master  of  all  that  I  am,  of  all 
that  1  have.  I  am  now  only  a  member 
of  which  He  is  the  only  Head,  a  servant 
who  has  no  longer  a  name  nor  an  indepen- 

The  Divine  Eucharist.  32 


330  LOVE,    THE    PRINCIPLE 

dent  life,  and  who  can  receive  nothing  but 
for  his  Master.  I  wish,  then,  no  longer  to  be 
esteemed  or  loved  personally,  I  want  no  long 
er  to  be  the  object  of  anything  whatsoever,  " 

Do  not  forget  this,  for  you  will  be  pur- 
sued by  the  esteem,  the  admiration,  and  the 
love  of  pure  souls,  angels  of  this  earth,  on 
account  of  your  sublime  vocation  and 
your  glorious  mmistry  around  the  most  Bless- 
ed Sacrament.  They  will  desire,  at  least. 
to  see  you,  hoping  to  derive  from  your 
presence  some  great  good  for  themselves. 
They  will  try  to  speak  with  you  and  listen  to 
you,  and  they  will  carry  away  your  least  words 
with  emotion.  If  you  lend  yourselves  to  that, 
you  will  be  unfaithful  to  your  Master,  you 
will    be    usurping    His    place. 

You,  adorers  and  servers  of  Jesus  Christ 
annihilated,  you  take  His  glory,  that  glory 
and  that  love  which  He  expects  for  the  tnagnif- 
icent  favors  He  has  shown  you,  and  you 
crown  yourselves  with  them?  You  receive 
those  homages  to  which  He  alone  has  a 
right?  You  are  robbers  of  the  sanctuary,  and 
you    profane    the    dignity    of    the    Eucharistic 


OF    THE    SPIRITUAL    COMBAT  331 

and  religious  vocation.  You  are  aiming  at 
being  gods,  and  you  are  serving  Our  Lord 
in  order  to  elevate  yourselves  at  His  ex- 
pense! Woe  to  you! 

If  you  do  not  comprehend  all  that  I  am 
saying  to  you,  you  will  make  the  experience 
of  it  when  you  shall  have  had  some  success 
in  the  good  that  you  do.  But  notice  whether 
some  are  not  already  running  after  you, 
whether  they  are  not  around  you  too  much. 
Take  care  of  allowing  yourself  to  be  put. 
like  Dagon,  in  place  of  the  Ark.  Like  that 
idol,  you  will  be  broken  by  the  wrath  cf 
the   Lord. 

IV.  There  still  remains  the  combat  of  the 
will,  of  the  will  that  acts.  That  will  of  the 
old  man  must  be  mortified.  It  is  always 
trying  to  rebel.  Crush  it.  It  is  always  saying: 
«  It  is  enough  »,  or  else,  «  After  awhile  » 
Take  hold  of  that  will,  and  pit  lessly  immolate 
it  at  every  moment.  Contradict  it  in  every- 
thing that  it  wants  to  do.  Here  it  is  that  a 
man  must  hate  his  soul  to  possess  it,  and 
lose  it  to  gain  it.  This  is  the  sacrifice  of 
the  wole  man. 


332  LOVE,     THE     PRINXIPLE 

A  man  cannot  find  in  self  a  love  greater 
than  self.  It  would  be  contrary  to  reason 
that  an  effect  should  be  greater  than  its 
cause.  Seek,  then,  a  love  that  comes  from 
on  high,  from  Jesus  Christ,  for  it  alone  can 
arm  us  to  struggle  against  self. 

This  combat  against  nature  in  the  mind, 
the  heart,  and  the  will,  must  last  as  long 
as  our  life,  as  long  as  ourselves.  Yes,  we  shall 
die    struggling. 

It  is  hard,  but  we  reach  it  by  the  love  cf 
Our  Lord.  The  only  thing  to  be  done  is  to 
deal  it  a  great  blow  in  the  beginning.  That  will 
be  noc  only  the  death-blow,  but  also  the 
blow  of  victory.  If  you  do  that,  you  will 
be  very  happy,  because  from  that  instant 
you    shall    have    lost    self    and    found    God. 


I P 

f      The  SPIRIT  of  PENANCE.       ^ 

I— & 

/^  "J?  *!^'  =«if  *^"  *?f "  *V?'  *yi?'  *^  *3ff"  *■-*■  1^  •3if'  *3if"  *?f  *3if"  *35f ■  -W  *^'  *3t  ^ 


Durus  est  hie  sermo,  et  quis potest 
671111  audire  ? 

This  is  a  hard  saying  and,  who 
can  take  it  ? 


HUS  exclaimed  the  Pharisees  when  Our 
Lord  set  forth  to  them  the  Mystery  of 
the  Eucharist,  and  demanded  of  them  the  sub 
mission  of  their  Jewish  repugnances  to  the 
Faith  of  Jesus  Christ. 

Perhaps,  you  also  say:  "  Jf  constant  morti-- 
fication  is  the  condition  of  the  religious  life,, 
it  is  too  hard.  " 

True,  it  is  hard,  and  there  are  few  who 
persevere  in  it  and  become  saints.  They  mor- 
tify themselves  for  a  time  while  the  passions 
are  still  to  be  feared ;  and  when  peace  reigns 
they  cease  to  do  so.  From  this  it  comes  that 
there  are  so  many  of  merely  ordinary  virtue, 
and  that  they  never  rise  above  the  vulgar 
level.  Sloth  leads  to  that  state.  Now  we 
are  full  of  fervor,  but  the  Retreat  is  not 
sufficient  to  form  us  to  a  habit  and,  when  it 


334  THE  SPIRIT  OF  PENANCE 

is    over,    we    fall    back    to    where    we    were 
before. 

I.  How  ward  off  this  danger?  By  asking 
of  God  the  spirit  of  penance.  It  is  absolutely 
necessary  to  acquire  the  spirit  of  penance. 
Without  it  you  will  effect  nothing  lasting. 
You  will  fall  back  into  tepidity  and,  after 
the  Retreat,  you  will  be  more  unhappy  than 
before,  because  yovi  shall  have  to  reproach 
yourself    with    having    lost    great    graces. 

What  is  the  spirit  of  penance?  It  is  the 
constant  will  to  mortify  one's  self  in  every- 
thing as  soon  as  the  occasion  presents  itself, 
and  of  seeking'  that  .occasion  should  it  fail 
to    come. 

There  are  some  moments  for  corporal  morti- 
fication, but  there  are  none  marked  out  for 
that  of  the  spirit.  We  make  use  of  some 
corporal  mortification  in  the  time  of  temp- 
tation, of  seductive  dangers,  to  exf«ate  some 
fault,  or  when  we  are  seized  with  a  strong 
desire  of  pleasing  God.  But  we  may  have 
the  spirit  of  penance  in  everything-,  carry 
it  about  with  us  and  apply  it  to  everything, 
•because    it    is    an    all-embracing    desire.    On 


THE   SPIRIT  OF  PENANCE  335 

that   account,    it   is   the   perfection   of    morti- 
fication. 

Ask  it  of  God  with  earnestness.  Exercise 
yourself  in  it  during  your  Adorations  and 
Communions.  Beg  for  it  incessantly.  Make 
ot  it  a  general  intention  which  will  embrace 
your  whole  life,  and  which  may  be,  as  it 
were,  the  seal  of  all  your  resolutions.  Make 
also,  a  particular  intention  by  which  you 
will  determine  upon  certain  acts  of  the  day  to 
which  you  will  especially  apply  it.  Hesitate 
not  even  to  perform  corporal  penance  to  ob- 
tain this  spirit,  which  will  make  of  your 
entire  life  a  holocaust  offered  to  the  glory  of 
God,    as    was    the    life    of    Our    Lord. 

For  the  practice  of  this  virtue,  offer  to 
God  all  that  He  will  send  you  in  the  way 
of  suffering  and  contradiction,  and  be  fai'hful 
to  those  bodily-  privations  recommended  by 
the  saints,  and  which  form,  as  it  were,  an 
integral  part  of  sanctity.  Practise  them  to  tbis 
end  in  the  refectory,  on  your  couch,  in  prayer 
and  in  labor,  and  in  the  secret  of  your  cell- 
But  if  you  habituate  yourself  to  offer  to 
Our  Lord  through  love  your  legitimate  joys, 


336  THE  SPIRIT  OF  PENANCE 

even  your  spiritual  ones,  they  will  form  a 
bouquet.  This  is  the  true  mortification  of 
love,  the  most  perfect  spirit  of  penance. 
There  are  two  ways  of  honoring  Our  Lord 
t>y  penance;  the  one  is  inspired  by  nega- 
tive love,  the  other  by  positive  love.  By  the 
first,  we  prevent  evil  or  we  correct  it.  It 
is  necessary,  but  it  makes  us  act  only  through 
the  strict  duty  of  Christian  justice.  For  the 
practice  of  this  kind  of  penance,  it  suffices 
to  have  a  conscience  and  to  know  one's  self 
to  be  a  sinner.  .This  is  rigorous  reparation. 
It  would  be  a  very^  unfortunate  thing  not  to 
have  sufficient  love  to  mortify  one's  self  in 
this    way. 

But  the  penance  that  springs  from  positive 
love  is  what  I  counsel  you,  what  I  desire 
for  you.  It  is  more  noble.  It  is  not  satisfied 
with  paying  its  debts,  but  it  gives  over  and 
above  of  all  that  it  owns.  Animated  by  this 
love,  we  do  not  mortify  ourselves  to  avoid 
hell,  but  to  please  God.  We  deprive  our- 
selves of  what  we  might  lawfully  get.  It 
is  the  sacrifice  of  filial  love.  It  applies  itself 
to    everything,    fmding    in   all   things    matter 


THE  SPIRIT  OF   PENANCE  337 

from  which  to  cull  some  privation  to  offer  at 
once  to  the  Well-Beloved. 

By  this  loving  mortification,  we  make  self 
the  end  of  nothing.  We  refer  to  God  all 
praise,  even  that  which  might  be  justly  ours. 
We  desire  nothing  for  self  This  is  not  that 
false,  worldly  humility  whicli  makes  a  sem- 
blance of  turning  away  from  the  praises  that 
are  given  it,  but  which  in  reality  refuses 
them  only  to  have  them  repeated  with  more 
earnestness.  No,  on  certain  occasions,  we  must 
know  how  to  accept  eulogium  and  how  to 
be  silent.  That  is  a  great  sacrifice  of  humil- 
ity. 

In  like  manner,  you  would  like  to  obtain 
permission  for  something  that  pleases  you, 
and  you  want  to  demand  it  at  once  But 
you  defer  asking,  in  order  to  mortify  your 
will  so  desirous  of  its  .own  good.  This  is 
mortification   of  love. 

Again,  you  are  at  Adoration,  and  you  ex- 
perience great  joy.  You  might,  indeed,  enjoy 
it,  but  you  prefer  to  sacrifice  it  to  Our 
Lord,  and  you  begin  to  meditate  on  His  Pas- 
sion. Oh!  this  is  the  most  agreeable  thing  you 


338  THE  SPIRIT  OF  PENANCE 

can  offer  Him  for  is  there  anything  sweeter 
and  more  lawful  than  the  spiritual  joys  of 
prayer  r 

On  the  contrary^  you  are  in  aridity  and, 
having  done  all  that  you  could  to  remove 
the  causes  that  keep  you  there  by  your 
own  fault,  perhaps,  it  continues.  That  is  a 
suffering  for  you.  You  might  take  a  book  in 
order  to  go  out  of  yourself  and  distract 
your  mind  from  the  weight  that  overwhelms 
it,  but  you  prefer,  for  the  love  of  Our  Lord, 
to  accept  that  state  with  resignation.  Oh, 
how  satisfied  Our  Lord  would  be  with  that! 
—  And  you,  also,  in  the  depths  of  your  soul, 
although  perhaps  you  may  not  be  conscious 
of    it. 

If  you  possess  the  spirit  of  this  lovmg  mor- 
tification, yon  will  not  be  disquieted  at  not 
having  the  other  virtues.  In  it  you  practise 
them  all,  for  it  is  perfection  in  action,  follow- 
ing you  everywhere,  immolating  you  every- 
where in  the  most  excellent  way  to  the  good 
pleasure    of   God. 

He  who  mortifies  himself  through  justice 
obtains  peace.  He  who  adds  to  this  the  mor- 


THE   SPIRIT  OF  PENANCE  339 

tification  of  love  obtains  joy  and  a  great 
increase  of  happiness.  No  one  is  more  happy, 
more  joyous  than  the  most  mortified  re- 
ligious. 

To  love  God  above  everything  and  for 
Himself  is  a  certain  sign  of  the  true  love 
of  God.  The  mortification  of  simple  penitence 
through  justice  does  not  prove  that  a  man 
loves  God  more  than  himself.  It  touches  not 
the  interiar,  it  is  satisfied  with  what  is  rigor- 
ously necessary ;  he  may  be  outwardly  very 
obedient  in  all  that  is  commanded,  and  very 
disobedient    interiorly. 

The  mortification  of  love  immolates  the 
interior.  It  goes  straight  to  God,  sacrificing 
self  only  to  please  Him  and  to  avenge  His 
rights  upon  itself.  It  executes  against  itself, 
through  love  of  Him  and  for  His  glory, 
acts  of  justice,  and  it  is  its  own  purgatory. 
It  does  not  wait  till  chastisement  is  im- 
posed upon  it,  it  anticipates  it.  It  desires  God 
for  Himself,  and  never  asks  anything  of  Him 
for  self,  unless  ever  to  love  Him  more. 

Ah,  what  a  grand  way  to  approach  God! 
Such  a  one  has  ever  the  fire  of  love  in  hand 


340  THE  SPIRIT  OF  PENANCE 

to  destroy,  to  consume  all  that  is  opposed 
to  the  life  of  God  and  His  good  pleasure 
in  him.  He  disappears  in  order  to  make  God 
increase  and  appear  more.  God  becomes  the 
only  end  to  which  all  is  sacrificed.  This  is  a 
treasure  that  you  hold  in  your  own  hands.  Rec- 
ognize it  and  profit  by  it.  Study  it,  penetrate 
into  its  depths.  Let  it  become  the  frequent 
subject  of  your  examens. 

In  the  morning,  foresee  the  mortifications 
of  the  day.  In  the  evening,  if  you  have  prac- 
tised them,  thank  God  for  it,  or  ask  pardon 
for  having  been  too  indolent  in  doing  so. 
Measure  all  things  by  this  standard.  Here 
lies  the  true  secret  of  spiritual  advancement. 

If  you  take  not  my  word  for  this  marvelou? 
virtue,  try  it  yourselves,  for  a  time,  at  least ;  and 
when  you  shall  have  had  a  taste  of  it,  ah !  you 
will  not  give  it  up.  You  must  become  con- 
vinced of  it,  enthusiastic  over  it,  for  to  do 
anything  well,  to  arrive  at  the  possession  of 
a  virtue,  one  must  first  esteem  it,  then  ad- 
mire it,  then  love  it  passionately.  The  will  and 
the  body  will  perform  easily  what  the  mind 
judges   good   and    the   heart   greatly   desires. 


THE  SPIRIT  OF   PENANCE  341 

Cultivate,  then,  the  spirit  of  penance.  ,]\Ior- 
tify  youFselves  in  everything-  and  everywhere, 
in  body  and  soul,  in  mind  and  heart,  through 
love  for  Our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  Ah!  I  would 
that  these  words  were  fire  and  engraved  with 
a  red-hot  iron  in  your  heart  1  Look  not  at 
the  pain  in  them,  but  at  the  unction.  The 
Cross  is  more  of  a  consolation  than  a  pun- 
ishment. The  saints  understood  it,  and  there- 
fore they  embraced  it  with  such  love  and 
joy. 


^ 


The  MORTIFICATION  of  the 


SENSES. 


Ifg^^E  have  said  that  it  is  absokitely  neces- 
i^^Bi  sary  to  give  one's  mind  to  God,  that  the 
most  dangerous  struggles  are  those  of  the 
mind,  that  tepidity  of  1  fe  has  its  source 
in  sloth  and  indecision  in  choosing  God  and 
rejecting  evil.  We  have  said  that,  at  once 
and  unhesitatingly,  thoughts  that  have  even 
the  appearance  of  evil  must  be  banished. 

We  have  said  that  it  is  necessary  to  give 
our  lieart  to  God,  that  He  exacts  it  ab- 
solutely for  Himself  alone;  but  that,  in  ordei 
that  the  gift  of  our  heart  may  be  constant, 
we  must  offer  it  through  the  love  of  generos- 
ity and  sacrifice.  This  love  is  the  spirit  of 
penance,  the  mortification  of  love.  It  is  the 
true  way  to  sanctity.  Without  it,  all  the  rest 
is  nonsense,  ways  more  or  less  flowery  intend- 
ed to  amuse.  All  other  means  are  child's 
play   in   the  service   of  God. 

There  is  no  question  of  that.  We  must  be 
serious.    May  God  preserve  us  from  the  friv- 


THE   MORTIFICATION   OF   THE   SENSES  343. 

(J 

olous!  We  can  make  nothing  out  of  them. 
Levity  is,  as  it  were,  an  oil  that  floats  over 
their  mind  and  heart,  preventing  grace  from 
penetrating  into  them.  No;  have  one  thought, 
one  very  definite  aim,  and  tend  thereto  by 
serious   means  suitable  to  conduct  you  to  it. 

I.  Now,  to  come  to  belonging  entirely  to 
Our  Lord,  one  must  absolutely  give  Him 
both  body  and  senses,  and  for  that  he.  must 
become  their  master.  Cost  what  it  may,  we 
must  have  in  our  pocket  the  keys  of  our  own 
house.  We  must  keep  the  body  under  the 
empire  of  duty,  under  the  empire  of  the  will 
and  of  the  grace  of  God. 

The  body  has  neither  intelligence  nor  faith, 
therefore  must  the  will  subdue  and  lead  it. 
The  body  is  an  animal  which  can  be  reasoned 
with  only  by  blows.  It  knows  neither  sobriety 
nor  honor,  and  it  cares  not  for  virtue.  Of 
its  nature,  it  is  disorderly  and  tends  obsti- 
nately to  its  own  satisfaction.  It  desires  sen- 
sible good,  its  own  particular  good,  and  with  all 
the  violence  of  concupiscence  it  inclines  to 
its  own  enjoyment.  If  reason  opposes  it.  it 
tries  to   prevent   it  and  attain  the   object   of. 


344  THE  MORTIFICATION  OF  THE  SENSES 

its  desires  in  spite  of  it.  It  is  a  rude  combat; 
and  if,  unhappily,  the  mind  is  in  connivance 
with  it,  we  are  lost. 

It  is  for  this  reason  that  interior  mortifi- 
cation is  not  sufficient.  The  body,  which  has 
the  power  to  betray  us,  must  also  be  mor- 
tified. 

Perhaps,  if  you  have  a  very  strong  will 
and  a  very  great  love,  you  will  be  able  to 
get  along-  without  that,  but  as  a  general  rule, 
it  is  better  to  have  good  ramparts  "well  guard- 
ed and  gates  well  closed. 

The  evil  man  ought  to  be  continually  re- 
pressed, kept  down,  and  mortified,  for  he 
has  only  brutish  instincts.  The  mind  ought 
to  be  directed  and  elevated  toward  God,  the 
body  restrained  and  mortified.  The  spirit 
should  not  be  fettered,  for  fear  of  stifling 
it,  but  it  should  be  constantly  directed  to 
God.  Prayer,  which  is  essentially  a  function 
of  the  mind,  is  denominated  the  elevation  of 
the  soul  to  God.  The  mind  has  need  of 
light,  the  heart  of  nourishment,  the  body 
of  repression.  It  must  be  conquered  and 
chained. 


THE   MORTIl  ICATION   OF   THE  SENSES  345 

The  will  which  is  the  yes  or  the  no,  which 
forms  the  royalty  of  man,  ought  to  have 
for  only  end  the  will  of  Cod,  to  which  it 
should  be  constantly  united  and  submissive. 
The  mind  sees,  the  heart  labors,  the  will 
decides.  The  will  ought  to  be  mistress  of 
both  mind  and  heart.  It  is  the  sovereign, 
and  it  is  able  for  all  with  the  grace  of  God. 
It  is  admirable,  this  Christian  will  which, 
clothed  with  the  strength  of  God  Himself 
knows   no    obstacles. 

God  is  with  the  will  to  vanquish,  when  the 
will  is  with  God  in  submission  to  Him. 

The  will  should  always  rule  oven  the  body 
and  the  senses.  It  is  a  difficult  and  fortunate 
thing  to  become  master  of  one's  body.  On 
account  of  contact  with  the  world,  there  arc 
some  discouraging  difficulties,  and  it  is  rare 
for  one  to  become  absolute  master  of  his 
senses.  For  a  time,  yes;  but  surprise  awaits 
you,  seizes  you  when  you  think  least  of  it. 
Occasions,  attractions  are  so  numerous,  so 
subtle!  They  entangle  you  on  all  sides.  Then, 
some  day,  cojnes  an  occasion  in  which  one 
feels  all  his  weakness  returning;  like  the 
The  Divine  Eucharist  2^ 


346  THE  MORTIFICATION  OF  THE  SENSES 

domestic  animal,  very  gentle  ordinarily,  but 
which,  when  roused  to  passion,  no  longer 
recognizes  his  master. 

This  it  is  that  discourages  converted  sinners. 
They  are  faithful  for  a  long  time,  then  sud- 
denly  they  feel  the  most  violent  attacks,  and 
sometimes  experience  hea\-y  falls.  The  heart 
and  the  soul  were,  indeed,  converted,  but  the 
body   had   not   changed. 

To  love  God,  to  pray,  to  make  resolution?, 
are  good  and  necessary.  But  still  more  is  it 
necessary'  to  keep  your  slave  in  subjection 
As  long  as  a  man  is  not  master  of  his  own 
body,  he  is  neither  holy  nor  truly  pious.  He 
cannot  produce  good  acts,  he  is  not  in  a 
state  of  solid  and  lasting  piety. 

Oh,  how  hard  it  is  to  arrive  at  the  death 
of  the  body  1  A  man  consents  to  the  sacrifice 
of  the  mind  and  the  heart  —  but  the  body,  — 
oh,  not  so  readily  1  Examine  your  life,  and 
you  will  see  that  your  sins  come  through  the 
senses.  They  attack  the  soul,  but  by  means 
of  the  body.  That  is  easily  understood.  Our 
soul  is  united  and  bound  to  the  senses  in 
such  a  way   that   it  can   do   nothing   without 


THE   MORTIFICATION   OF   THE  SENSES  347 

their  help.  But  they  make  use  of  that  to 
betray  it  as  often  as  they  can,  to  injure  it' 
instead  of  serviing  it.  They  do  everything  to 
attract  it  to  themselves.  And  so,  the  body  is 
the  irreconcilable  enemy  of  grace,  which  wills 
to  sanctify  our  soul  and  unite  it  to  God, 
separate  it  from  things  terrestrial  "to  attach 
It  to  things  celestial.  The  body  escapes  all 
vigilance,  corrodes  all  bonds.  It  knows  its 
power  and  still  more,  it  has  its  allies  even 
in  the  mind,  the  soul,  and  the  heart,  for 
since  sin  entered  the  world,  the  whole  man, 
both  interior  and  exterior,  is  wounded  and 
inclined    to    evil. 

By  the  original  fall,  reason  in  the  midst 
of  the  senses  has  but  feeble  light  and,  again, 
it  is  dulled  by  the  bad  use  we  have,  perhaps, 
made  of  it.  It  disappears  before  the  fire  of 
the  senses,  which  possess  two-thirds  of  man. 
If  you  do  not  begin  the  work  of  your  sanctifi- 
cation  by  mortifying  them  in  order  to  reduce 
them,  you  amuse  yourself,  your  time  is  lost. 

Recall  what  we  have  said  of  the  mortifi- 
cation of  love.  The  Iirst  victim  it  ought  to 
sacrifice  to   God  is  the  body. 


348  THE  MORTIFICATION  OF  THE  SENSES 

III  all  his  epistles,  Saint  Paul  preaches 
the  crucifixion  of  the  flesh,  of  the  senses, 
of  the  old  man.  He  must  be  reduced  to 
slavery,  for  never  will  he  who  has  not  en- 
tirely conquered,  be  virtuous.  In  that  con- 
sists the  exterior  exercise  and  the  proof  of 
the    virtue    of    mortification. 

II.  There  is  a  heresy  current  m  the 
world,  which  is  making  fearful  ravages  in 
morals.  They  say:  "  There  is  no  original 
sin.  The  body,  as  well  as  the  mind  is  in  its 
rectitude.  Then,  all  their  instincts  aie  good, 
and  they  ought  to  be  satisfied.  "  Thus  do 
they  legitimatize  the  most  deplorable  excesses. 
If  there  has  been  no  fall,  of  what  good  is 
reparation?  By  this  reasoning,  they  deny  the 
necessity  of  Christian  mortification  and  of 
even  simple  moral  restraint. 

This  error  has  glided  even  into  piety.  It  hai> 
invaded  the  direction  of  souls  by  veiling  itself 
a  little,  naturally,  and  by  not  avowing  its 
principles  so  openly,  for  that  would  make  souls 
recoil.  But  you  read  books,  you  hear  certain 
confessors  saying  that  exterior  mortification 
is  not  neccssiary.     If  it  is  proper  for  religious^ 


i 


THE   MORTIFICATION   OF   THE  SENSES  349 

it  is  not  so  for  people  of  the  world.  Fasts^ 
discipline  of  the  body  —  they  are  good  for 
the  cloister.  It  is  better  to  conduct  souls  by 
sweetness.  —  To  this  I  reply:  Sweetness  be- 
longs to  God.  It  is  for  Him  to  cause  it  to  be 
felt  in  the  soul  as  an  encouragement  and 
recompense.  Rut  it  is  for  man  to  cooperate; 
it  is  his  to  mortify  and  crucify  self.  He 
has  been  condemned  to  eat  his  bread  in 
the  sweat  of  his  brow.  The  earth  is  cursed 
for  him,  creatures  are  for  him  a  continual 
occasion  of  sin.  Ho  must  separate  from  them; 
he  must  hid  adieu  to  them,  that  he  may  not 
rest  in  them  preferring  them  to  God.  How  can 
he  reach  this  point  but  by  mortification  of 
the  senses? 

Remark  that  man  is  constantly  attracted 
to  his  body.  The  vices  of  the  soul  .lay  hold 
on  the  body  through  the  senses.  Become  cor- 
poral, they  arc  more  tenacious,  more  guilty. 
If  their  exterior  life  is  not  supj-yorted,  they 
will  die  more  quickly. 

Thus  pride  which  is  not  allowed  to  mani- 
fest  itself  by  vanity,  by  honors  and  first  places 
does    not    last.    By    rejecting    eulogiums    and 


350    THE   MORTIFICATION   OF   THE  SENSES 

exterior  marks  of  vanity,  pride  is  stifled  in 
itself 

The  aim  of  tlie  avaricious  man  is.  also,  the 
body.  He  amasses  wealth  only  to  enjoy  it  some 
''lay,    when    he    shall    have   acquired    enough. 

How  many  people  live  only  to  eat,  and 
disfigure  in  themselves  the  image  of  Jesus 
Christ  to  take  that  of  one  of  the  vilest  animals! 

What  shall  J  say  of  the  other  vices,  of 
anger,  sloth,  and,  above  ail,  of  the  shameful 
vice?  The  body  is  the  field  of  then-  enjoy- 
ment. They  nourish  themselves  for  it.  they 
live  on  its  sensations  They  have  all  struck 
deep  roots  into  it. 

Listen  to  Saint  Paul  demanding  the  chas- 
tisement of  the  members.  He  speaks  of  chas- 
tising his  body,  that  body  of  death,  and  of  the 
Christian  he  gives  this  beautiful  definition: 
"  He  is  a  man  crucified  in  his  flesh,  and  living 
of  the  virtue  of  the  love  of  God.  "  Here  is 
mortification,  and  for  all! 

Saint  Paul  is  only  echoing  the  Precur- 
sor, upon  whose  lips  Our  Lord  placed  these 
first  words:  Do  penance  and  abandon  your 
evil  ways.  Bring  forth  worthy  fruits  of  penance. 


THE   MORTIFICATION   OF  THE  SENSES  351 

namely,  expiate  by  humiliations,  fasting,  and 
ashes  the  sins  of  your  senses.  May  we  behold 
these  fruits  as   we  have  seen  the  crimes! 

The  Church,  instructed  by  Our  Lord,  exacts 
corporal  penance:  fasting,  public  prayers,  sol- 
emn expiation.  These  authorities  speak  loudly 
enough  against  the  teachers  of  sensualistic 
piety. 

III.  Corporal  mortification  is,  then,  law- 
ful and  necessany^  It  is  for  all  times,  for  all 
persons.  Practise  it,  for  you  have"  need  of  it. 
Here  are  some  new  motives: 

Our  body  is  evil,  infected  by  sin,  filled 
with  bad  inclinations.  It  must  be  purified, 
restored  to  health  by  blows,  as  the  tempest 
purifies  the  atmosphere;  as  the  sick,  by  certain 
strong  doses,  are  made  to  cast  off  the  bad 
humors  that  disable  them. 

We  have  sinned  not  only  in  our  origin, 
but  voluntarily  by  our  acts  and  senses.  They 
must  be  renewed  in  the  mortification  of  Jesus 
Christ,  for  we  have  corrupted  a  nature  al- 
ready vitiated. 

Every  sin  deserves  punishment  equal  to 
its  malice.  Voluntary  reparation  ought,   then. 


352   THE  MORTIFICATION  OF  THE  SENSES 

to  be  equail  to  the  punishment  demanded  by 
justice.  If  we  have  committed  one  single 
mortal  sin,  we  have  deserved  hell.  How  shall 
we   discharge   the   debt   of  hell?? 

Should  we  have  only  venial  sins,  how  com- 
pensate for  the  purgatorial  flames?* 

God  has  pardoned  us,  it  is  true,  arid  you 
enter  at  once  into  the  joy  of  the  angels,  as 
if  you  had  never  sinned.  But  satisfaction  — 
what  of  that  -*  We  should  have  our  sins  ever 
before  our  eyes,  in  order  to  repair  them, 
for  true  conversion  consists  not  only  m  sinning 
no  more,  but  in  repairing  for  the  past.  Let 
us  purify  ourselves,  or  God  will,  indeed, 
purify  us  by  His  chastisements  euher  in  this 
life  or  in  the  other 

Because  we  do  it  not,  He  frequently  stretch- 
es out  His  own  hand.  See,  you  say,  that 
person.  .How  he  suffers,  how  lie  is  perse- 
cuted! He  does  not  deserve  it.  It  is  possible 
that  that  may  be  a  trial  of  love,  but  it  is 
often  an  expiation  of  sin.  God  has  made 
him  do  penance,  because  he  forgot  what  he 
owes. 

Temptations  assail  you  and  make  vou  suffer. 


THE   MORTIFICATION   OF   THE  SENSES  353 

They  are  long  and  grievous.  It  is  a  true  pun- 
ishment, you   say. 

But  have  you  ever  yielded  to  iheiii?  Ex- 
piate now  God  is  inflicting  on  you  the 
chastisement  that  you  yourself  have  not  had 
the   courage    to    unxlergo 

But  in  such  a  case,  is  it,  then,  good  to 
have  temptations?  Yes,  it  pays  past  debts  and 
keeps  one  in  humility  It  forces  on 2  to  do 
penance,  to  struggle  when  he  would  like  to 
be  in  peace. 

There  is,  above  all,  a  kind  of  trial  which 
brings  with  it  much  suffering,  and  thai  is 
the  persecutions  and  calumnies  coming  from 
the  devout.  Nothing  gives  so  much  pain,  be- 
cause their  virtue  makes  you  think  they  have 
cause  for  what  they  do  and  say,  and  that  it 
is  God  Himself  who  is  angry  with  you  Some- 
times He  permits  the  best  of  people  not  to  aoe 
clearly,  and  to  persecute  you  in  spite  of  your 
innocence,  in  order  to  purify  you  more. 

Sickness  and  physical  sufferings  are.  again, 
corporal  expiation  that  God  imposes  Do  not 
seek  them,  no  more  than  temptations  and 
persecutions.    But    if    they    come,    thank    tlie 


354  THE  MORTIFICATION  OF  THE  SENSES 

mercy-  of  God  for  them,  which!  makes  you 
do  penance  now  to  spare  you"  later. 

Lastly,  it  is  not  sufficient  to  embrace 
works  of  corporal  mortification^  because  one 
has  sinned.  That  is  only  simple  justice.  It  is 
not  enough.  If  you  want  to  do  only  that,  you 
need  .not  have  taken  the  trouble  to  come 
into  religion.  And,  then,  this  penance  is  all  for 
ourselves.  It  is  to  make  us  shun  future  pains 
and  procure   our   salvation. 

We  should,  moreover,  practise  the  morti- 
fication of  Jesus  Christ,  who  chose  suffer- 
ing not  through  necessity,  but  through  love, 
because  iHe  saw  in  it  the  means  of  more 
clearly  proving  His  love  for  His  Father  and 
for  us.  We  should  consider  this  mortification 
as  a  virtue  to  be  acquired,  and  say:  "  Even 
had  I  no  sin  to  expiate,  I  wish  to  mortify 
myself,  because  Jesus  Christ  has  given  me 
the  example.  He  was  scourged  and  crucified, 
He  suffered  hunger  and  thirst,  cold  and  naked- 
ness joyfully  for  the  love  of  God,  His  Father. 
I  want  to  be  like  Him.  " 

Behold  the  beautiful,  the  true  motive  for 
mortification!  Let  us  embrace  it,  let  us  clothe 


THE   MORTIFICATION   OF   THE  SENSES  355 

ourselves  with  the  garments  of  Jesus  Christ, 
in  which  alone  we  can  please  the  Heavenly 
Father,   namely,   mortification  and   the  Cross. 

IV.  How  shall  we  practise  this  virtue?  By 
ncvev  enjoying-  anything-,  by  depriving,-  our 
body  of  the  pleasure  it  desires,  by  never 
seeking  our  own  satisfaction  in  ourselves  nor 
in  the  things  around  us,  by  never  looking  for 
the  approbation  and  the  praise  of  men. 

We  may  practise  mortification  ])y  denying 
ourselves  in  eating,  not  so  much  in  quantity  as 
in  quality,  and  embracing  with  permissiojn 
the  corporal  mortifications  and  the  humilia- 
tions so  loved  by  the  saints.  Rest  assured,  you 
will  be  able  tO'  do  all  that  without  falling  sick. 

Do  it  then.  Without  it,  all  your  professions 
of  love  for  God  are  but  illusions  and,  did 
God  not  know  our  ignorance,  they  would 
be    insolence. 

Some  say  that  it  is  hard  to  mortify  one's 
5clf  always.  1  believe  it.  One  must  carry 
lis  cross  every  day,  have  his  sword  constantly 
.n  hand.  But  we  do  not  discharge  delUs 
vvith  sentiment  and  loving  words,  but  with  pen- 
ance. That  is  the  coin  of  Calvary. 


356   THE   MORTIFICATION   OF  THE  SENSES 

First  of  all,  we  should  perform  all  the  mor- 
tifications of  our  state  in  life.  They  absolute- 
ly oblige,  and  above  all  others.  It  would  be 
wrong  to  neglect  them  for  others.  Then  again, 
we  must  seek  occasions,  be  ingenious  in  pun- 
ishing one's  self  and  immolating  one's  body 
to    God    by    sacrifice    incessantly   renewed.- 

Had  we  no  love  for  mortification,  we  might 
have  room  to  despair.  Some  seek  their  own 
case  above  everything  else.  They  allow  the 
bell  to  ring  without  at  once  obeying  it.  They 
have  always  too  much  to  do  when  obedience 
prescribes  something.  They  are  slow  in  rising, 
they  lie  some  moments  longer  in  bed.  What 
advancement  do  they  make?  They  arrive  after 
the  Office  has  begun.  The  devil  leads  them 
in  and  presents  them  to  Our  Lord,  saying 
mockingly:  "  Behold  a  slave  who  wants  to 
be  fed.  That  is  the  reason  that  he  attends  the 
Office.  But  I  have  robbed  Thee  of  all  the 
merit  that  he  might  have  offered  Thee,  *' 

Oh,  it  is  a  shame  to  be  so  wanting  in  ex- 
actitude  toward   Our   Lord,-  our   King! 

When  conversing  with  some  one  in  the 
parlor,  they  remain  a  few  moments  after  the 


THE   MORTII'ICAIION   OF    THE  SENSES.  357 


bell  has  rung,  in  order  not  to  appear  im- 
polite, or  to  multiply  words  of  regard.  But  the 
good  God  w  lio  is  calling  you?  —  Ah.  \vell. 
He  can  wail! 

Is  it  possible?  Are  not  the  passions  terrible 
when  \vc  reason  with  them?  And  yet,  I  atn 
speaking  the  truth,  though  not  the  whole 
truth. 

Ajid  then,  after  all  that,  we  want  to  be 
treated  as  princes.  Nothing  must  be  wanting 
to  us.  We  must  be  servecl  promptly  and 
comfortably.  The  religious  life  is  a  Cal\''ary 
and  a  school  of  suffering,  but  some  enter 
to  make  in  it  a  bed  of  idleness.  As  soon 
as  anything  is  wanting  to  them,  they  become 
impatient,  they  murmur.  They  speak  of  their 
rights.  They  have  them_  always  in  hand  .3.s  a 
buckler.  Ah,  then  know  that,  as  religious, 
you  have  a  right  only  to  bread  and  water  and 
a  camp-bed.  You  are  siiuiers,  and  you  have 
deserved  to  be  arraigned  at  the  judgment-seat 
of  God.  The  Rule  niitigates  that,  because 
it  is  a  mother;  but  by  rights,  that  is  what 
you   deserve. 

And,  in  fact,  before  entering  religion,  were 


358  THE  MORTIFICATION  OF  THE  SENSES 

we  all  so  well-off  that  nothing  was  ever  wanting 
to  us?  Perhaps,  we  came  from  a  family  ol 
ihe  working-class,  or  we  were  shepherds. 
In  our  childhood,  we  had  to  work  m  order 
to  help  gain  bread  for  the  family.  Are  you 
come  into  the  religious  life  to  be  belter 
treated  than  in  yom*  own  home?  A  hundred 
times  better  would  it  have  been  for  you  to 
have    remained    there ! 

Well  then,  we  must  begm;  It  is  a  serious 
thing.  Regard  not  the  form  of  my  words, 
but  their  meaning.  We  do  not  say  it  everyday 
nor  in  public,  because  he  who  would  do  so, 
would  begin  his  own  condemnation.  "Rut  it 
is    the    truth. 

Come,  then !  The  religious  life  is  a  death, 
but  one  that  gives  life.  Understand  it  in 
this  way,  let  the  love  that  crucified  Our  Lord 
fasten  you  to  the  Cross  with  Him. 


1^' 


The  GIFT  of  SELF. 


I.  ^JSJO  attain  to  the  virtue  of  strength  and 
i^^l  Christian  mortification  there  is  a 
means,  the  most  powerful  of  all,  and  it  alone 
can  perfect  all  the  others,  and  that  is>  the 
love  of  Our  Lord. 

The  means  of  acquirmg  a  virtue  must  be 
\n  accordance  with  prudence,  but  elevated 
by  love.  Saint  Paul  reached  at  once  the  per- 
fection of  Jesus  Christ  by  the  love  of  the  Cross. 
God  cast  him  to  the  earth  to  manifest  Him- 
self to  him  in  His  love;  and  in  this  single  word, 
^'I  am  Jesus  whom  thou  persecutes!:.  "  H6 
revealed  to  him  all  the  love  of  the  Redemp- 
tion, of  Calvary,  of  His  death.  Paul  under- 
stood all,  and  he  went  away  repeating  the 
great  word:  "  Dilexit  me,  ct  iradidit  semei- 
ipsum  pro  me  —  He  loved  me  and  delivered 
Himself  for  me.  " 

After  that,  he  looked  upon  the  greatest 
sacrifices  as  small.  He  accepted  all.  He  deliv- 
ered himself  to  Jesus  Christ,  saying  that 
he  lived  no  longer,  but  that  Jesus  alone 
lived   in   him;    that  for  hmi    there  .were   no 


360  THE  GIFT  OF  SELF 

longer  either  parents  or  friends,  or  Jews,  or 
Gentiles,  or  life,  or  death,  but  in  all  things 
Jesus   Christ:   Omnia  ct  in  omnibus   Christus. 

Listen  to  him :  "  Since  Jesus  Christ  has 
loved  me,  I  will  love  Him.  in  spite  of  every- 
thing, and  nothing  shall  hinder  me  from  lov 
ing  Himl  The  things  of  time,  the  spiritual 
powers,  hunger,  nakedness,  the  sword,  death, 
—  nothing  shall  separate  me  from  the  charity 
of  Jesus  Christ  by  whom  we  triumph  over 
all  things,  Sed  in  his  sitperamus  propter,  eum 
qui  dilexit  nos.  " 

But  for  that  he  regards  the  love  of  Jesus 
Christ  as  belonging  to  him,  as  personal.  He 
makes  himself  the  end  of  that  love:  "  He 
loved  7ne,  Paid.  He  loved  me  to  such  a 
degree  that  He  delivered  Himself  to  death 
for  me:  DiLexit  me\  I  shall  love  Him,  also, 
and  I  shall  know  only  Hirn,  and  Him  cruel 
tied.    " 

Jesus  Christ  has  loved  us  also,  us.  The 
i>roof  is  that  He  has  called  us  to  the  priest- 
hood and  the  religious  life.  He  has  given  us 
this  grace  of  preference,  and  daily  He  renews 
and  increases  it  by  fresh  graces.  After  dying 


THE  GIFT  OF   SELF  361 

on  the  Cross  for  every  one  of  us,  He  dies 
daily  in  this  Sacrament,  and  agiin,  for  each 
one  of  us.  If  He  had  not  died,  He  would 
now  mount  Calvary  to  save  us ;  and  if  He  had 
not?  already  instituted  the  Blessed  Sacrament, 
He  would  institute  It  for  each  one  of  us. 
Does  not  Saint  Paul  say:  "  He  loved  me  " 
concentrating  in  himself  alone  all  the  love  of 
Our  Lord?  He  is  right,  and  we  ought  to  do 
as  he. 

That  the  love  of  God  may  enkindle  our 
soul,  it  must  be  concentred  entirely  on  self, 
as  in  a  powerful  lens.. 

Redemption  is  for  all  of  us,  but  it  is  entire- 
ly for  each  one  in  particular.  It  is  like  the  sun 
which,  shining  at  one  and  the  same  time  on 
all  creation,  does  not  give  you  less  of  its  light 
and  heat  than  if  it  shone  upon  you  alone. 
A  man  is  of  no  value  compared  with  Jesus 
Christ,  It  is  true,  nor  does  he  merit  that 
personal  and  individual  gift  of  the  Son  of 
God.  But  if  Jesus  Christ  wills  to  love  him 
more  than  he  deserves,  if  He  wills  to  show 
Him  excess  of  love  in  order  to  triumph  over 
his   heart   (for  the   Cross   and   the   Eucharist 

The  Divine  Eicharist.  a^ 


362  THE  GIFT  OF   SELF 

are.  both  excesses)  who  will  prevent  Him? 
He  is  infinite  in  His  love  and  in  His  gifts, 
and  the  Infinite  in  giving  Himself  neither 
divides  nor  d  rainishes  Himself. 

Let  us  now  look  at  what  regards  our  voca- 
tion. The  Eucharist  —  is  It  not  for"  you  all 
entire?  The  Exposition  of  the  Blessed  Sacra- 
ment —  is  it  not  you  who  make  it?  The 
Church  has  given  It  into  your  keeping  and,  as 
long  as  there  will  be  a  religous  of  the  Blessed 
Sacrament  able  to  kneel  at  the  prie-Dieu. 
solemn  Exposition  and  Adoration  will  be  kept 
for    him,    will   belong   to   him. 

Jesus  loves  you,  then,  in  particular,  and 
does  He  not  come  every  day  entirely  to  you 
and   for   you,  alone? 

II,  How  respond  to  this  personal,individual 
love,  which  leads  Jesus  Christ  to  give  Him 
self  entirely  to  each  one?  Gift  calls  for  gift. 
Since  Our  Lord  gives  Himself  with  His  graces, 
give  Him  not  only  your  works,  but  yourselves. 

To  understand  how  you  ought  to  make 
this  gift,  look  at  your  Model,  Jesus  Christ 
Himself  giving  Himself  to  His  Father  to  be 
His  servant. 


THE   GIFT   OF   SELF  363 

The  Eternal  Word  came  upon  this  earth 
to  offer  to  the  Father  a  perfect  sacrifice. 
Now,  He  begins  by  sacrificing  to  Him  the 
Humanity  that  He  took  and  united  to  Him- 
self, by  depriving  it  of  its  natural  and  human 
personality,  thereby  reducing  it  to  a  state 
of  dependence,  slavery,  and  absolute  sacri- 
fice. But  the  human  Soul  of  Jesus,  the  Sacred 
Humanity,  accepts  lovingly  and  for  life  the 
privation  in  which  it  is.  It  manifests  it  by 
His  words  and  acts.  In  effect,  open  the  Gospel, 
and  there  you  see  Our  Lord  refusing,  as  Man, 
to  direct  Himself,  to  act  or  judge  by  Himself 
and,  above  all,  to  receive  the  glory  and 
honor  that  people  wished  to  give  Him. 

It  is  as  Man  united  to  the  Person  of  the 
Word,  that  He  says:  "  The  Son  of  Man  can 
do  nothing  but  what  He  has  seen  the  Father 
do>.    "   "   I   dp  all  that  pleases  My  Father.   '" 

I  seek  not  My  own  glory,  but  the  glory 
of  Him  who  sent  Me,  "  And  again:  "Why 
call  me  good.^    One  is  good,  —  God." 

Whence  this  insistence  in  attributing  noth- 
mg  to  Himself,  in  wishing  nothing  for  Him- 
self? It  is  because  to  direct,  to  lead,  to  receive 


364  THE  GIFT  OF  SELF 

glory  and  affection,  belong  to  man's  per- 
sonality, it  is  the  characteristic  of  the  human 
ego.  Now,  Our  Lord  having  sacrificed  His  in 
order  to  depend  only  on  the  Divine  Person 
of  the  Word  and  live  only  by  It,  wishes  to 
be  faithful  to  His  sacrifice,  and  to  prove 
that   It  alone  is   His  principle  and   His   end. 

By  t  his.  Our  Lord  is  in  a  state  of  perpetu.ai 
servitude,  the  state  of  victim  and  holocaust, 
since  as  Man  He  has  sacrificed  what  most 
contributes  to  the  pride  and  glory  of  man, 
the   human   rgo,   the   human   personality. 

Thence  it  follows,  that  His  sufferings  and 
His  Passion  are  but  the  execution,  the  accom- 
plishment of  the  first  sacrifice  that  He  made 
of  Himself  to  His  Father  on  coming  into 
this  world:  "Burnt  offering  and  sin-offering 
Thou  didst  not  require,  then  said  I :  Behold 
1   come.    " 

But  what  is  most  marvelous  is  that  this 
state  of  absolute  dependence  remains  in  Our 
Lord,  and  will  eternally  remain  in  Him.  In  the 
Blessed  Sacrament  as  in  heaven,  wherever  Je- 
sus Christ  is,  the  Father  beholds  Him  sacri- 
ficed, to  Himself,  always  dependent  on  the  per= 


THE   GIFT   OF   SELF  365 

soiiality  of  the  Word  and  offering  Himself  In 
sacrifice  to   His   Infinite  Majesty. 

It  is.  moreover,  in  the  Eucharist  that  Our 
Lord  best  manifests  that  interior  sacrifice  by 
obeying,  by  depending  on  all  priests,  and  even 
upon  all  the  Faithful,  and  by  }[is  state  of 
exlenor   anniliilation. 

Behold  how  Our  Lord  was  the  Servant 
of  His  Father,  how  He  gives  Himself  to  Him, 
to  save  us  and  perfectly  to  glorify  Him. 

Well,  you  can  imitate  Him  in  this  gift  of 
Himself.  What  do  I  say?  That  is  the  very 
grace  of  your  vocation. 

These  words  of  your  Rule:  "  They  shall 
serve  by  the  gift  of  themselves,  "  which  are 
written  in  its  most  important  chapter,  since 
it  treats  of  Adoration,  —  these  words  place 
you  under  the  obligation  of  imitating  Our 
Lord  in  His  sacrifice  of  personality. 

Tiue,  you  cannot  destroy,  really  sacrifice 
your  human  personality.  The  Word  alone,  be- 
cause He  was  God,  had  this  power  over  the 
humanity  to  which  He  united  Himself  in 
order  to  make  of  it  His  victim;  but  you 
can  and  you  ought;  to  imitate  by  grace  and 


366  THE  GIFT  OF   SELF 

virtue  what  He  did  in  reality  by  His  power 
How  can  you  do  that?  By  making  to  Our 
Lord  the  entire  and  absolute  gift  of  your 
personality;  by  taking  Him,  in  this  conse^ 
cration,  as  your  Master,  not  for  some  passing 
acts,   but  forever   and  for   ever^'thing. 

For  that  you  must  renounce  the  right  to 
be  your  own  guide,  giving  to  Him  and  to  Him 
alone  the  right  to  direct  you,  and  laboring- 
only  for  Him  alone.  You  must  be  unreserv- 
edly submissive  to  His  will  over  you  and 
all  that  concerns  you,  in  soul  and  body,  in 
the  present  and  in  the  future.  You  must 
cease  to  be  a  person  who  possesses  and 
governs  himself,  for  you  are  no  longer  but  a 
servant,  a  member,  an  instrument  led  by  Our 
Lord  alone.  He  will  majiifest  to  you  His 
will  by  the  law  of  your  state,  obedience 
to  your  Superiors,  the  movements  of  His  grace 
and  the  events  of  every  instant. 

Again,  He  should  be  your  only  end.  Your 
gifts  and  virtues,  your  studies  and  labors, 
should  be  only  for  Him,  and  in  all  things 
you  should  have  in  view  but  His  good  pleasure 
and  glory.  Your  actions  and  vour  sufferings, 


THE   GIFT  OF  SELF  367 

your  merits, — all  ought  to  be  remitted  into  His 
hands,  as  to  Him  who  possesses  you  and  by 
whom  you  act.  Even  the  gifts  of  grace  and 
glory  you  ought  to  desire  only  as  means  of 
loving  and  glorifying  Him  more.  The  gift  of 
perfect  love  is  that  which  loves  God  for 
Himself  and  because  He  deserves  it,  although 
there  might  be  no  other  reason  for  loving 
Him.  In  this  we  do  not  exclude  the  other 
motives  of  love,  but  we  propose  to  ourselves 
the    most    perfect. 

Do  you  comprehend  how  beautiful  is  the 
grace  granted  you  by  your  vocation,  of  placing 
yourself  under  the  obligation  of  making  to 
God  a  sacrifice  of  personality  analogous  to 
that  which  Jesus  Christ,  the  Incarnate  Word, 
makes  ? 

I  say  that  it  is  the  proper  and  distinctive 
mark  of  our  vocation.  As  the  Franciscan 
is  distinguished  from  all  others  by  his  poverty 
a'nd  the  renunciation  of  all  propriety,  as  each 
Order  has  its  own  dominant  virtue,  so  renun- 
ciation not  only  of  what  we  have,  but  of  what 
we  are,  our  own  personality,  —  behold  the 
characteristic    of   our   vocation. 


368  THE  GIFT  OF  SELF 

The  religious  state  does  not  exact  thl? 
formal  gift.  It  is  sufficient  to  sacrifice  one's 
will,  one's  goods,  and  one's  body  by  the 
three  vows.  But  your  vocation  demands "  still 
more,    that   we   should   give   our   personality. 

We  should  be,  remember  it  well,  but  human 
shadows,  like  the  species  of  which  the  Bless- 
ed Sacrament  is  the  living  and  personal 
subject. 

This  gift  is  nothing  new  in  itself.  Saint 
Paul  says:  "  1  live  no  more,  but  Jesus  lives 
in  me.  "  Many  saints  have  taught  it,  and  all 
have  practised  it;  for  how  reach  sanctity 
without  giving  one's  self  entirely  to  Jesus 
Christ  to  be  absorbed  by  Him? 

But  it  is  new,  inasmuch  as  we  propose 
It  as  the  dominant  \drtue  of  a  whole  So- 
ciety. Practised  by  those  that  have  a  special 
attraction  for  it,  this  gift  has  never  been 
proposed  as  a  general  and  universal  law,  as 
the  starting-point  and  the  foundation  of  reli- 
gious perfection  for  a  whole  body.  It  is  look- 
ed upon  as  the  consummation  of  sanctity 
and  the  portion  of  only  a  few.  But  the  Imita- 
tion says:  "  A  spontaneous  oblation  of  thyself 


THE   GIFT  OF  SELF  369 

into,  the  hands  of  God  ought  to  precede 
all  thy  works,  if  thou  wouldst  obtain  liber- 
ty and  grace "  (Bk.   IV,  c.   8). 

It  is  for  this  reason  that  we  propose  it 
as  the  elementary  means  of  holiness  for  all, 
as  the  very  key  of  l^uc.haristic  perfection. 
wliose  wliole  effort  will  afterward  be  to  render 
that  gift  always  more  comp'ete  and  more  pure. 

We  do  so,  because  we  understand  that  it  is 
the  best  manner  of  participating  in  Our  Lord's 
state  of  adoration  in  the  Blessed  Sacrament. 
in  which  He  adores  His  Father  by  His  per- 
sonal annihilation.  Let  us  adore  Him,  then  as 
Himself,  and  with  Him  the  Father,  by  the 
annihilation  of  our  personality. 

Here  lie  youi:  grace  and  your  virtue.  It  is 
for  you  and  for  such  souls  in  the  world  as 
have  the  attraction  to  the  Blessed  Sacrament. 
Study  it  and,  if  you  understand  it  well,  you 
will  open  a  new  way  in  piety,  not  in  itself,  but 
in  its  practice.  It  is  the  grace  of  sanctity  by 
the  Eucharist. 

III.  But  as  Our  Lord  has  manifested  the 
gift  that  He  has  made  of  Himself  to  His. 
Father  by  His  life  of  continual  sacrifice,  so. 


370  THE  GIFT  OF   SELF 

once  given  to  Him,  you  ought  like  Him,  for 
love  an^  with"  joy,  embrace  the  Cross  and 
the  death  of  the  Cross.  As  this  gift  can  be 
made  only  by  love,  so  it  is  by  love  that  you 
ought    to    sacrifice    self    to    realize    it. 

Our  Lord  never  took  any  natural  pleasure,- 
but  in  everything  He  sought  the  good  pleasure 
of  His  Father.  Behold  true  love!  And  I  tell 
you  that,  if  you  do  ndt  love  Our  Lord,  you 
will  not  love  His  Cross.  You  may  perform 
crucifying  acts  for  some  moments  but  you 
will  not  live  in  the  state  of  one  ci-ucified,  and 
you  will  not  persevere.  You  will  do  what  is 
just  necessary'  to  be  saved;  but  you  will  not 
serve  God,  you  will  not  glorify  Him  in  the 
way  by  which   He  calls  you  to   do  so. 

Love  Him,  then,  and  suffer  for  Him,  bur 
only  because  Hfe  has  loved  you.  When  some- 
thing presents' itself  to  be  done,  examine,  how 
Our  Lord  did  it,  enter  into  His  intentions, 
and   do    it   as    He   did.      You   know    His   life. 

If  it  is  an  action  of  which'  the  Gospel 
makes  no  mention,  ask  yourself:  How  would 
Our  Lord  have  done  this?  Consult  your  grace,- 
His    will    in    you,    and    act    accordingly.    In 


THE  GIFT  OF  SE^^F  371 

this  way,  you  will  have  a  model  to  reproduce. 
You  will  be  united  to  Him  in  a,ction  as  an 
mstrument  in  the  hand  that  guides  it.  You  will 
be  in  His  company.  You  will  make  one  with 
Him,  —  He  the  Head  and  the  Chief,  you  the 
memb.er  and  the  servant. 

But  try  always  to  please  Him  at  any  cost 
To  imitate,  is  good;  to  give  pleasure  is  more 
perfect.  Do  not  be  satisfied  with  what  He 
exacts,  but  as  soon  as  you  think  that  some- 
thing  would   please    Him,    do   it. 

Love  every  one  according  to  your  grace 
and  your  state.  Young  people  love  more 
with  the  beart  and  through  the  virtue  of 
gratitude:  the  more  mature  through  positive 
virtue  and  reason;  and  old  men  through  the 
sacrifice  of  resignation,  for  all  are  deserting 
them.  Love  Him,  then,  according  to  your 
grace  and  your  age,  only  love  Him  more  than 
everything  and  all  others.  The  recompense 
of  your  sacrifices  will  be  to  love  Him  more. 
This  is  the  only  thing  for  which  we  ought  to 
be  eager,  namely,  while  giving  others  to  Him, 
to   give   ourselves 

But   if   we  love   Him   more,    He   will   give 


372  THE   GIFT   OF   SELF 

US  to  taste  more  abundantly  the  suavity  of  His 
love,  the  sweetness  of  His  Heait,  the  delights 
of  converse  with  Him.  We  love  Him  so 
little  that  we  do  not  often  thste  these  ineffable 
delights.  Are  you  not  humbled  at  expeiiencinjr 
nothing  on  your  pric-UieuP  Ask  the  good  God 
by  incessant  sacrifices,  to  make  you  feel  His 
Heart  by  increasing  His  love  in  you.  Endeav- 
or to  find  that  Heart  so  tender  and,  when 
you  are  sleeping  upon  His  Breast,  ah!  remain 
there  as  long  as  you  can,  and  drink  at  the 
sources  of  love! 

If  you  love,  you  will  grow  in  the  strength 
and  the  power  of  mortification,  you  will  seek 
for  it  as  for  something  you  need;  but  if  you 
love  little,  ah,  you  will  be  little  mortified! 
Mortification  is  the  measure  of  love,  the 
touchstone  of  holiness.  Even  if  you  preached 
magnificently  and  converted  all  the  world 
without  this  virtue  you  are  like  the  baptismal 
water  which  purifies  the  neophyte  and  runs 
off  to  lose   itself    in   the   piscina. 

Let  this  mortification  through  love  become 
the  soul  of  your  soul. 

Love,  and  when  some   sacrifice  faces  you, 


THE  GIFT  OF  SELF 


373 


say:  "  O  my  God,  who  hast  loved  me  so 
much,  I  will  do  this  for  Thee,  to  return 
Thee  a  little  love!  " 

After  this  act  of  love,  the  sacrifice  will  no 
longer  cost.  It  is  already  made  in  your  will 
and"  heart. 


EVERYTHING  OUGHT  TO 


BE   DONE  WELL. 


fe 


OU  will  remark  that  in  this  Retreat .  I 
do  not  speak  to  you  of  Our  Lord  and  ot 
the  Blessed  Sacrament.  There  is  a  time  for 
everything.  Now  there  is  question  not  of  Him, 
but  of  you.  This  Retreat  is  to  make  you 
good  servants  of  His  Divine  Person,  by  purify- 
ing you  from  the  faults  that  mark  your  serv 
ice  and  by  acquiring  the  virtues  that  are 
necessary  for  it 

I  To-day,  we  say .  Everything  ought  to 
be  done  well.  The  good  God  must  be  able  to 
say  of  us  what  they  said  of  Our  Lord  :  "  He 
has  done  all  things  well  —  Bene  omnia  fecit.  " 
All  and  each  in  particular.  "  Age  quod  agin 
—  Do  well  what  you  do,  "  says  the  Jnu- 
tation.  Every  man  to  his  own  business! 

All  actions  have  a  right  to  be  pei  formed 
well.  The  day  of  a  religious  of  the  Blessed 
Sacrament  is  a  chain  of  which,  in  the  morn- 
ing, he  clasps  the  first  link  to  the  Eucharist 
ana    in    the    evening    the    last.    There    ought 


EVERYTHING    TO    BE    DONE    WELL      375 

to  be  neither  break  nor  difference  neither 
in  the  metal  of  the  links  nor  in  their  folrm. 
They  ought  to  be  all  Eucharistic,  made  with 
Eucliaristic  grace  and  love,  and  on  the  model 
of  the  Eucharist.  You  ought  to  perform 
manual  labor  as  well  as  you  do  Adoration  or 
Communion,  because  your  actions  derive  their 
merit  from  the  Master  who  commands  them, 
and  for  whom  you  are  doing  them. 

All  Our  Lord's  acts  were  divine  and  of 
infinite  merit,  because  the  Person  of  the  Word, 
who  directed  them  and  appropriated  them,  was 
divine.  All  your  actions  ought  to  be  religious 
and  Eucharistic,  done  according  to  your  grace 
of  a  Religious  of  the  Blessed  Sacrament, 
thence    drawing    their   respective   value. 

All  that  you  have  to  do  here  is  a  part  of 
your  Eucharistic  service  and,  if  you  are  inspir- 
ed with  this  principle,  you  will  no  longer  care 
for  one  thing  more  than  another.  All  are  in 
themselves  indifferent.  Their  merit  comes  only 
from  the  will  of  Our  Lord,  who  orders  them  by 
the  Rule;  and  were  you  to  perform  an  heroic 
action  not  demanded  of  you,  instead  of  an 
ordinary   and   simple   one  prescribed  you   by 


376  EVERYTHING  OUGHT 

obedience,  it  .would  be  a  work  of  death, 
and  God  would  reprove  you  for  it.  There  is 
no  good  but  what  is  commanded  you  for  His 
service.  Doubtless,  certain  actions  more  nearly 
touch  His  adorable  Person  and  are  done  under 
His  very  eye.  They  are  more  consoling  and 
more  honorable.  But  to  leave  some  employ 
ment  of  obedience  to  go  to  Adoration,  for 
example,  to  the  feet  of  Our  Lord,  would  be 
ill-done.  The  seal  of  His  will  is  not  on  that 
work,  and  He  does  not  accept  it 

n.  That  an  action  may  be  well  done, 
certain  special  conditions  are  necessary  for 
It. 

In  the  first  place,  God  must  will  it.  All 
our  acts  are  indifferent,  and  this  is  true, 
above  all,  for  those  that  live  under  obedience. 
As  for  people  in  the  world  who  retain  their 
liberty,  they  should  do  this  rather  than  that 
according  to  circumstances.  They  may  dispose 
their  life  within  the  limits  of  God's  law 
But  for  us,  obedience  equalizes  all  our  ac- 
tions. They  must,  then,  be  performed  as  in- 
dicated. The  Rule  fixes  for  you  the  ordinary 
employment  of  your  life.  The  living  authority. 


TO    BE    DONE    WELL  377 

the  Superior,  determines  the  rest  of  your 
actions.  In  fine,  the  necessity  of  order  shows 
you  in  certain  cases  what  you   ought  to  do. 

You  ought  to  leave  everything,  even  your 
communications  with  God,  in  order  to  obey 
the  Rule  and  your  Superior.  And  should  you 
receive  a  revelation  contrary  to  your  Rule^ 
you  should  hold  to  your  Rule  and  believe 
the  marvel  an  illusion.  God  cannot  speak 
against    the    Rule. 

There  are  some  who  are  willing  to  prefer, 
their  own  interior  sentiment  to  what  authority 
prescribes,  their  own  inspiration  to  that  of  obe- 
dience. These  are  protestants  in  the  spiritual 
life.  There  are  more  of  them  in  our  days  than 
ever  before.  When  faith  decreases,  illusion 
increases. 

Whoever,  as  an  excuse  for  his  tenacity  to 
his  own  judgment  and  disobedience,  says  to 
you:  "I  am  in  an  extraordinary,  supernatural 
way.  God  Himself  is  ordering  me  to  do  so 
and  so, "  listen  patiently  to-  him  and  then, 
without  noticing  what  he  has  said,  give  him 
this,  reply:  "Discite  a  me  quia  mltis  sum  et 
humilis  corde,"  "Learn  of  Me  because  Iain 

The  Divine  Eucharist.  25 


•378  EVERYTHING  OUGHT 

meek  and  humble  of  heart  "  and  leave  him 
to  his  pretended   supernatural  way. 

Even  if  Our  Lord  were  with  you  in  your 
cell,  you  ought  to  leave  it  and  go  where 
you  are  called  at  the  sound  of  the  bell. 

Nevertheless,,  there  are  some  interior  inspi- 
rations that  incline  to  such  or  such  a  woric. 
There  are  both  true  and  false  inspirations. 
To  find  out  whether  they  come  from  God, 
consult  the  Hule.  It  is  silent?  Consult  the 
Spirit  about  the  matter.  And  if  you  want 
to  be  perfect,  go  ask  advice  and  permission 
of  your  Superior.  I  except  only  prayer  in 
the  cell.  To  that  you  may  give  yourself  up 
during  all  the  time  left  free  from  special 
obedience. 

III.  To  judge  of  the  degree  of  goodness 
of     our    actions,     let    us    recall    this    axiom. 

"  Bonum  ex  integra  causa ;  malum  ex  quo- 
cumque  defectu  — For  an  action  to  be  good, 
it  ought  to  be  good  in  every  way;  a  single 
defect  on  any  one  point  vitiates  it  entirely.  " 

It  is  for  this  reason,  therefore,  that  an 
action  should  correspond,  first,  to  its  nature; 
for  instance,  Adoration,  according  to  the  meili- 


TO    BE    DONE    WELL  379 

od  taught  you;  study,  according  to  the  rules; 
employment,    according   to    received   custom. 

It  should  be  performed  in  its  o\vn  time. 
If  you  yourself  change  the  time  of  an  action 
you  vitiate  it.  God's  gracie  is  attached  to 
that  hour.  It  is  a  divine  messenger,  which 
does  not  wait.  For  the  divine  Office,  for 
example,  the  angel  of  God,  the  angel  of 
prayer,  comes  at  the  beginning  of  it,  giving 
to  every  one  the  grace-  to  say  it  with  recollec- 
tion. You  are  not  there,  you  will  find  that 
you  will  say  your  Office  badly.  If,  however, 
obedience  has  detained  you  elsewhere,  or  if 
it  is  not  by  your  own  fault  that  you  are  late. 
Our.  Lord  answers  for  you  and  reserves  for 
you  your  grace.  To  make  Our  Lord  wait,  is 
an  insult,  do  not  forget  that.  Let  us,  then, 
for  His  sake,  have  a  certain  pride  in  per 
forming    our   service    well 

Our  actions  must  be  done  in  the  proper 
place.  Grace  is  attached  to  places,  also.  The 
grace  is  where  the  Rule  wishes  you  to  be, 
and  there,  too,  is  the  glory  of  God.  The 
Church  attaches  Indulgences  to  places,  and 
obedience   sanctifies   them. 


380  EVERYTHING  OUGHT 

Our  actions  should  be  performed  according 
to  their  circumstances,  according  to  their  partic- 
ular manner.  Do  not  perform  magnificently 
an  action  that  ought  to  be  simple.  Attend  to 
the  exterior  and  recognized  form  of  every 
thing.  Our  Lord's  service  is  composed  of  acts 
whose  form  is  prescribed.  Hold  to  that,  for 
it  is  the  plan  of  your  obedience. 

Again,  to  our  actions,  we  must  give  a  soul, 
and  that  is,  purity  of  intention.  Perform  your 
'actions  neither  through  pride  if  you  succeed, 
nor  through  vexation  if  you  do  not.  These 
are  gnawing  worms  which,  leaving  the  action 
externally  good,  have  ruined  it  within.  Have 
always  a  supernatural  intention.  Do  all  for 
the  love  of  Our  Lord.  This  is  not  necessary 
to  make  the  action  meritorious.  A  motive  of 
any  virtue  whatever  will  be  sufficient  for 
that,  but  an  action  performed  through  love 
is  more  precious  and  agreeable  to  God.  • 

Be,  also,  faithful  in  doing  them,  performing 
them  entirely,  neglecting  nothing,  for  it  is  a 
little  portion  of  ihe  gift  of  God  which  must 
not  be  lost.  Crumbs  are  pearls  in  the  service  of 
Our  Lord. 


TO    BE    DONE    WELL  381 

Lastly,  give  them  humility  for  end  and 
Vesture,  that  they  may  all  tend  to  that  humility 
in  which  Our  Lord  envelops  Himself  in  thQ 
Blessed  Sacrament.  This  will  preserve  you 
from  vanity  and  discouragement.  Saint  Ber- 
nard says  that  God  neither  asks  nor  looks  for 
success,  but  only  for  the  care  that  we  take  to 
do  His  will.  To  succeed  or  not  to  succeed 
is  only  secondary. 

Lay  up  these  words.  They  are  for  every  rUy 
and  for  all  the  actions  of  your  life. 


SANCTITY  by  the  RULE. 


I.  ^^'  HE  law  of  youv  holiness  and  the  condi- 
^^M  lion  of  the  glory  of  God  in  you,  as 
well  as  the  power  of  the  duration  and  action 
of  the  Society,  consist  in  the  observance  of 
rhe   Rule 

Although  a  man  might  become  a  saint 
without  the  religious  Rule,  this  holiness  can 
not  be  yours. 

We  must  distinguish  between  regulation  and 
the  Rule.  Regulation  is  the  Rule  materialized, 
the  nomenclature  of  its  positive  prescriptions. 
It  i«;  the  word  of  command,  the  order  of  each 
action.  The  Rule  is  the  spirit  of  our  actions. 
It  is  the  interior  law,  the  form  of  sanctity. 
It  is  what  gives  spiritual  education. 

I  say  that  you  can  become  saints  only 
by  the  perfect  practice  of  your  Rule,  for 
God  has  created  you  only  to  be  Religious  of 
th6  Blessed  Sacrament.  Everything  in  you  is 
for  that  grace  and  for  that  life.  The  Rule  is 
the  Gospel  applied  to  your  temperament  and 
needs.  The  Gospel  is  the  general  law;  the 
Rule,  the  particular  law.  If  all  religious  bodies 


SANCTITY   BY  THE   RULE  383 

are  identical  inasmuch  as  they  are  composed 
of  the  disciples  of  Jesus  Christ  and  because 
all  practise  His  counsels,  they  are,  never- 
theless, distinguished  from  one  another  by  the 
spirit  and  end  for  which  they  practise  them. 

Every  man  is  bound  to  know  and  to  practise 
the  Gospel.  As  for  you,  if  you  know  and 
practise  your  Rule,  it'  suffices.  That  is 
your  Gospeh 

You  will  say,  perhaps,  that  ours ,  is  not 
approved  by  the  Hole  See.  That  is  true. 
Nevertheless,  the  approbation  of  the  Society 
by  the  Holy  See  is  an  indirect  approbation 
of  the  Rule.  They  have  examined  it  at  Rome. 
They  have  concluded  that  it  is  capable  of 
forming  religious  with  one  special  aim  useful 
to  the  Church,  having  the  power  to  glorify 
God  and  sanctify  souls.  They  praised  it  as 
a  whole.  The  Holy  Father  pointed  out  some 
corrections,  and  they  have  been  made  in  it. 
You  ought  not,  therefore,  to  respect  it  less, 
under  pretext  that  it  is  not  yet  canonically 
approved  (}). 

I.  Ven.  Pere  Eymard  uttered  these  words  in  1867. 
But  since  then  the  Constitutions  drawn  up  by  bim,  and 


384  SANCTITY  BY  THE  RULE 

It  is  through  prudence  and  favor  that  the 
Church  ha^  not  yet  approved  it.  Her  approba- 
tion gives  to  a  Rule  a  definite  character 
after  which  it  can  no  longer  be  retrenched 
nor  added  to  without  her  permission.  But 
now  we  can  still  do  so,  and  it  is  necessary 
in  the  beginning. 

While  waiting  for  us  to  solicit  a  definite 
approbation,  your  own  conduct  must  approve 
this  Rule.  The  Church  wants  to  find  out 
whether  it  is  praticable.  If  you  do  not  practise 
it,  to  what  purpose  have  it  approved? 

The  Society  says  to  you:  I  beg  you,  my 
children,  observe  the  Rule  that  I  give  you. 
practise  the  virtues  that  it  teaches  you,  that 
it  may  be  seen  whether  these  are,  indeed,  the 
virtues  that  your  vocation  exacts.  Why  do 
you  wish  Our  Lord  to  inspire  His  Vicar  to 
approve  the  Rule,  if  men  are  not  found 
sufficiently    holy    to    put    it    in   practice  ? 


at  which  he  labored  constantly  and  even  till  his  last 
hour  as  at  his  only  book,  have  been  approved  by  a 
Decree  of  the  Sacred  Congregation  of  Bishops  and 
Regulars.  —  We  allow  his  argument  to  stand  however^ 
in  Its  first  form,  as  being  more  forcible. 


SANCTITY   BY  THE  RULE  385 

Observe  it,  then.  Keep  it  with  love  and 
respect. 

-It  is  respectable  for  you.  We  do  not  say 
that,  because  we  have  made  it,  we  are  but 
wretchedness.  Nor  do  we  tell  you  that  it  has 
come  from  Heaven  by  a  particular  revelation. 
nor  by  a  miracle  of  assistance  direct  from 
the  Holy  Spirit,  It  has  none  of  these  extra- 
ordinary characteristics  of  so  many  other  holy 
Rules. 

The  thought  that  conceived  it,  the  pen 
that  wrote  it  were  inspired  only  by  this,  to 
serve  Our  Lord  in  His  Sacrament  of  Love 
by  a  Society  of  men  who  would  devote 
themselves  especially  and  entirely  to  that 
service. 

God  has  not  given  it  through  its  members 
those  brilliant  sanctions  that  consecrate  a 
Rule.  We  have  no  shining  saints  neither  living 
nor  dead,  who  preach  it  and  recommend  it. 
It  has,  then,  no  glory  from  its  children. 

What;  then,  is  its  glory?  It  is  to  have  none 
before  men.  It  is  a  teacher,  an  institute, 
to  form  you  to  give  yourselves  to  Jesus  Christ 
in  the  Eucharist.  What  glory  is  there  in  that? 


386  SANCTITY  BY  THE  RULE 

Bui  let  the  Society  possess  a  thaumaturgus, 
and  all  would  flock  to  hear  his  teaching, 
see  his  miracles.  They  would  not  even  go  in 
to  the  Master.  They  would  come  to  try  the 
spirit  of  that  man,  and  they  would  go  away 
glorifying  themselves  in  it.  Who  would  remain 
in  the  shade  with   Our  Lord? 

The  glory  of  the  Rule  and  of  the  Society, 
consequently,  is  in  its  end,  which  is  the  service, 
so  noble,  so  glorious,  of  Our  Lord  reigning 
and  triumphing  on  His  throne  of  love.  His 
glory,  again,  consists  in  forming  you  for  Him- 
self. If  the  Rule  can  make  good  servants 
whom  the  world  ignores,  but  who  are  pleasing 
to  their  Divine  Master,  it  wishes  nothing 
more. 

We  should  bless  God  for  the  obscurity  in 
which  He  leaves  the  Society.  Let  its  Rule 
oe  dearer  to  you  on  account  of  its  little  eclat, 
for  its  obscurity  places  you  more  perfectly  in 
your  state  of  adorers,  which  is  humility.  If  you 
understand  and  practise  it,  you  will  be  saints. 

It  is  hidden  and  mysterious  as  Our  Lord 
m  His  Sacrament.  The  world  will  never  com- 
prehend  it.   Does   it   comprehend.  Our   Lord 


SANCTITY   BY  THE   RULE  387 

and  His  Mystery  of  love?  But  they  who  have 
the  vocation  comprehend  it,  and  it  will  lead 
them   to   perfection. 

It  places  us  in  the  Blessed  Sacrament 
and  reduces  ns  to  notliing.  Other  Rules  perfect 
the  individual  in  order  to  make  him  a  use- 
ful man,  whom  they  can  oppose  to  human 
glory  in  order  to  prove  that  of  religion,  and 
it  is  well.  But  yours  hides  you,  annihilates 
you  in  order  to  lose  you  in  Our  Lord,  for  you 
have  not  to  come  forward  and  do  battle,  but 
to  adore. 

11.  Practise  it,  (hen,  and  love  it,  for  it  alone 
will  sanctify  you.  First  of  all,  because  it  put>^ 
you  in  the  way  of  holiness  and  constitutes 
for  you  an  atmosphere  of  graces.  Afterward, 
it  points  out  to  you  by  its  regulations  what  you 
have  to  do  at  every  hour  of  the  day.  It  makes 
known  to  you  the  actual  will  of  God  over  you, 
and  that  is  a  great  point.  What  kills  the  devotion 
of  pious  laics  and  of  the  priest  in  the  world,  is 
liberty.  They  know  not  what  they  have  to 
do,  and  whether  they  have  done  all  that 
God  requires  of  them.  The  Rule  shields  you 
from  this  danger.  When  it  leaves  you  free,  it 


388  SANCTITY   BY  THE  RULE 

shows  you  the  Superior  who  can  regulate, 
for  you.  Again,  the  Rule  gives  you  3pecial 
grace  adapted  to  your  spiritual  temperament. 
It  is  for  you  a  resume  of  all  truth.  It  is  your 
special  grace,  that  which  God  destined  for 
you  when  He  conceived  you  in  His  thought, 
that  which  must  gain  the  crown  Pie  then 
laid  up  for  you. 

Every  man  has  his  own  grace,  and  he 
must  be  led  in  a  special  manner.  The  Rule 
is  your  grace  of  life.  It  is  the  light  suitable 
for  your  mind  and  your  eyes.  It  shows  you 
Our  Lord  in  ever^'thing  and  everywhere.  It 
establishes  you  in  Him  and  upon  Him  without 
distracting  you  by  anything  else,  because  He 
alone  is  your  end  and  your  all. 

A  saint  once  said :  "  I  want  to  die  with  my 
Rule,  which  has  been  my  way;  my  Crucifix, 
which  has  been  my  strength;  and  my  Rosary, 
which  has  been  my  perseverance.  "  Instead  of 
the  Cross,  put  the  Blessed  Sacrament,  and  ask 
the  same  grace. 

Besides  your  personal  sanctity,  you  ought 
to  practise  the  Rule  for  the  sake  of  the 
Society,  your  Mother.  Its  life  is  in  the  Rule 


SANCTITY   BY   THE  RULE  389 

observed   and   sanctified    by    the   practice    of 
her  children. 

It  is  not  your  number  that  will  support, 
strengthen,  and  give  long  life  to  the  Society, 
but   the   practice    of   the   Rule. 

The  Rule  is  its  soul  and  life.  Every  Society 
consists  in  authority.  There  lie  its  strength 
and  its  centre,  and  he  who  does  not  obey 
the  Rule  disarms  authority  and  gives  death 
to   the   Society. 

Still  more,  the  Rule  is  its  power  of  action. 
The  Society  cannot  lead  you  to  the  virtues 
of  Our  Lord  if  you  do  not  follow  the  way 
that  it  traces  out  in  the  Rule.  By  failing  in 
obedience  to  the  Rule,  you  paralyze  the  So- 
ciety. 

On  the  (Contrary,  it  you  have  love  and 
zeal  for  ihe  Rule,  the  Rule  will  be  its  glory. 
Then  vocations  will  come,  and  the  Society 
will  extend  afar;  for  the  first  thing  that  postu- 
lants look  for  is  the  Rule,  and  they  cannot 
better  see  it  than  in  those  that  comment  it 
practically  by  their  conduct.  In  order  to 
attract,  the  Society  should  be  luminous  as  the 
sun;  but  you  arc  its  rays.    When  one  desires 


390  SANCTITY  BY  THE  RULE 

to  become  a  religious,  he  does  not  ask  to  see 
the  buildings  nor  the  habit.  He  wants  to  see 
the  works,  and  to  observe  whether  the 
members  are  saints.  And  when  the  Rule  is 
well  kept  in  any  place,  they  enter  there  with 
confidence,  for  they  say:  «  Here  I  should 
reach  sanctity,  for  they  follow  a  sure  path,  » 

The  Rule  violated  can  complain  and,  like 
God,  curse  its  transgressors :  "  They  who  de- 
spise Me,  shall  be  despised  —  Qui  contemnunt 
mc,  erunt  ignobiles.  "  Yes,  Our  Lord  will  de- 
spise them. 

Remember  that  all  who  have  abandoned 
their  vocation  had  little  esteem  for  the  Rule. 
They  wanted  to  add  to  it  or  retrench  from 
it.  But  Our  Lord  rejected  them,  because  He 
does  not  want  two  laws,  nor  a  will  contrary 
to  His  own,  which  He  has  indicated  to  the 
founder. 

It  is  not  for  me.  lo  give  the  sanction 
nor  to  recommend  the  Rule.  I  am  but  a  weak 
instrument.  But  the  weaker  the  instrument, 
the  more  does  Our  Lord  show  His  strength 
in  defending  it ;  and  the  better  the  mstrument, 
the  more  severe  does  Our  Lord  show  Himself. 


SANCTITY   BY  THE   RULE  391 

Never  is  any  one  sent  away,  nor  does  he  go 
of  himself ;  but  he  is  chased  away  by  Our 
Lord  Himself,  because  he  has  been  unfaith- 
ful  to  the  Rule. 

Keep  the  Rule  it  you  wish  to  glorify  Our 
Lord.  Since  you  have  entered  religion,  He 
wishes  no  longer  your  individuality,  however 
good  it  may  be.  You  have  become  a  member 
of  a  body,  and  you  are  no  longer  an  independ- 
ent individual.  You  can  no  longer  do  anything 
but  when  united  to  the  soul  and  the  body  to 
which  you  are  joined,  and  your  personal  vir- 
tues, not  practised  in  the  spirit  of  your  Rule, 
no  longer  honor  Our  Lord. 

Even  should  you  martyrize  yourself  if  it  be 
outside  your  Rule,  Our  Lord  will  pay  no 
attention  to  it.  And  you  will  not  persevere, 
and  you  will  not  attain  very  high  perfection, 
for  you  are  deprived  of  your  necessary  grace. 
Pay  atter;tion!  Take  a  religious  of  moderate 
talents,  but  possessing  fully  the  spirit  of  his 
Rule,  esteeming  it,  and  faithfully  employing 
the  means  of  apostolate  that  it  furnishes ;  take 
another,  superior  to  the  first  both  in  knowl- 
edge and  talents,  but  making  little  use  of  the 


392  SANCTITY   BY  THE  RULE 

means  afforded  by  his  Rule,  and  you  will  see 
that  the  former  will  effect  wonders  while  the 
latter  will  have  no  fruit  to  show  for  his  efforts. 

Come  thenr  the  Rulel  Behold  your  grand 
ascetic  book,  your  power,  and  your  grace! 
It,  above  and  before  all  things,  is  what  must 
make  you  saints.  Let  it  be  your  criterion 
in  your  studies  and  labors,  and  judge  nothing 
but  by  it  and  from  its  point  of  view.  There 
lies  the  secret  of  your  strength,  because  it 
IS  the  bond  of  your  union.  There  is  the  future 
of  the  Society  and  the  glorification  of  the 
Eucharistic   reign   of   Our    Lord. 

Love  it  well,  then,  if  you  love  the  Society, 
for  the  Rule  and  the  Society  are  but  one 
and  the  same  thing,  the  latter  living  only  by 
the  former,  which,  is  its  soul. 

Ought  you  not  to  love  the  Society  as  your 
mother  witli  the  most  devoted  love?  We  can 
say  of  it  what  the  woman  said  of  Mary,  the 
Mother  of  the  Saviour :  "  Blessed  the  womb 
that  bore  Thee,  and  the  paps  that  gave  Thee 
suckl  " 

Yes,  bless  the  Society,  respect  it,  and 
surround  it  with  your  esteem,  for  it  is  honor- 


SANCTITY    BY   THE   RULE  393 

able  as  the  daughter  of  the  Church,  as  the 
spouse  of  Jesus  Christ  glorified  and  reigning 
in  the  Blessed  Sacrament.  It  has  been  ap- 
proved by  a  great  and  saintly  Pope. 

Give  it  the  love  of  true  children,  of  well- 
born sons,  for  it  has  brought  you  forth  in 
sorrow. 

Submit  fo  it  your  intelligence  and  your 
works,  for  it  is  your  mistress  in  doctrine  it 
will  make  your  spiritual  education.  Live  in 
Its  spirit,  its  maxims,  and  its  means,  if  you 
want  to  attain  its  end,  which  is  likewise  the 
end  of  your  vocation  and  your  life,  your 
happiness  in  this  world  and  in  the  next,  the 
reign  of  the  Eucharist  in  yourselves  and  on 
all  sides. 


The  Divine  Eucharist. 


PRAYER,  the  MEANS  of  our 


SANCTITY, 


^ 


O  perform  well  our  actions,  behold  our 
spiritual  business ,  to  perform  them  ac- 
cording to  the  Rule,  behold  our  sanctifica- 
tion;  to  perform  them  in  the  spirit  of  prayer, 
behold  our  perfection! 

I.  For  several  reasons,  the  spirit  of  prayer  is 
absolutely    indispensable. 

In  the  first  place  you  have  need  of  Gods 
grace,  of  superabundant  grace,  for  30U  aiic 
contemplative  adorers,  and  as  such  obliged  to 
lead  a  life  entirely  celestial  and  ever  animated 
by  supernatural  motives.  The  only  means  of 
obtaining  this  grace  is  prayer.  And  as  you 
have  need  of  grace  at  every  instant,  it  is 
necessary  for  you  to  form  the  habit  of  prayer, 
to  become  men  of  prayer. 

I  lay  down  as  a  principle  that  the  grace 
of  the  Society  is  a  grace  of  prayer,  that 
the  spirit  of  prayer  is  one  of  its  characteristic 
and  distinctive  virtues.  This  grace  is  the  dowry 
of   all    whom    Our    Lord   calls    here,    for    He 


PRAYER,    THE    MEANS    OF    SANCTITY      395 

^ives  the  grace  when  He  makes  known  the 
call.  Naturally,  and  as  it  were  instinctively, 
you  ought  to  possess  the  spirit  of  prayer,  for 
It  forms  part  of  your  state  as  a  religious 
adorer.  And  as  every  creature  fulfils  quite 
naturally,  with  satisfaction,  and  as  if  it  knew 
no  other  thing,  the  end  for  which  it  was 
created,  so  ought  yoa  to  practise  the  life  of 
prayer  with  facility,  and  with  the  joy  of 
a    being    acting    coniormably    to    its    end. 

\Ve  have  by  virtue  of  ihc  Rule,  counting 
the  choral  Office,  eight  hours  daily  of  public 
prayer  m  the  chapel.  How  will  you  live,  if  you 
do  not  know  how  lo  occui)y  yourself  during 
all  this  time.^ 

But  1  tell  you  since  God  has  called  you, 
since  you  have  remained,  since  you  make 
these  eight  hours  of  prayer,  you  have,  more 
or  less,  the  gift  of  prayer,  God  never  calls 
to  an  end  without  giving  the  means,  and  one 
sign  of  vocation,  above  all  others,  will  be 
the  making  with  pleasure  these  eight  hours  of 
prayer.  But  if  we  make  them  only  perforce, 
if  we  are  glad  when  they  are  over,  we  have  no 
vocation,  or,  indeed,  we  have  lost  it. 


396   PRAYER,  THE  MEANS  OF  SANCTITY 

II  Prayer  ought  to  be  not  only  the  grace  of 
our  sanctificati.on,  but  its  principal  exercise, 
the  virtue  of  virtues.  By  it  you  will  have  the 
virtues  of  your  state,  because,  being  a  virtue 
which  has  God  for  immediate  object,  it  attracts 
the  other  virtues  after  it  and  makes  use  of 
them   to    exercise    itself. 

All  will  go  well  when  your  soul  shall  have 
taken  with  appetite  its  spiritual  nourishment. 
You  will  have  strength  for  the  sacrifice,  and 
vigilance  for  the  combat.  Ah!  why  do  we  not 
place  our  perfection  in  prayer?  Why  do  we 
not  direct  our  studies,  our  virtues,  to  increase 
the  state  and  the  practice  of  prayer  in  our- 
selves? We  employ  our  time  and  our  graces  in 
correcting  some  defects;  but  even  should  we 
not  leave  a  single  one,  we  must  not  pause 
there,  for  our  end  is  the  service  of  Our 
Lord  by  Adoration,  and  it  is  only  in  order  to 
make  our  Adoration  better  that  we  ought  to 
correct  our  faults  and  acquire  virtues.  This  is 
necessary,  it  is  indispensable,  for  Our  Lord 
can  admit  holy  servants  only.  But  even  should 
they  possess  virtue,  still  the  spirit  of  prayer 
must    give    to    it    the   form    suitable    for    the 


PRAYER,    THE    MEANS    OF    SANCTITY      397 

service    of    Our    Lord,    which    is    Adoration. 

For  us,  then,  all  consists  in  performing- 
this  royal  service  well.  Make  for  yourselves, 
therefore,  a  science  of  Adoration.  Make  of  all 
that  you  read  a  manual,  a  repetoire  of  material 
for  Adoration.  When  you  read  a  pious  book, 
let  it  be  only  to  discover  some  new  aliment 
for  prayer.  After  prayer,  all  the  rest  will 
follow  as  something   over  and  above. 

But  if  you  pray  badly,  be  sure  you  can 
never  practise  virtue.  Again,  you  must  have 
some  centre  of  rest,  and  that  cannot  be 
found  in  virtue;  consummate  sanctity  is  neces- 
sary for  that.  But  for  us  virtue  is  combat, 
and  never  shall  I  tell  you  to  find  therein 
your  resting-place.  If  you  should  pause  .  in 
it,  you  would  fall  like  the  bird  which  ceases 
to  flap  its  wings.  You  must  reach  the  perfec- 
tion of  the  Father  who  is  in  heaven.  You  can 
never  say:  "It  is  enough.  Now  I  shall  rest." 

Nor  will  study  nor  knowledge  afford  you 
the  happiness  of  repose.  What  does  one 
know  as  a  whole? 

You  will  find  your  happiness,  remember 
it  '"ell,  only  in  your  communications  with  God,. 


398   PRAYER,  THE  MEANS  OF  SANCTITY 

in  your  Adorations,  in  your  thanksgivings, 
but  above  all  in  your  Adorations ;  for  frequently 
thanksgiving  is  struggling  and  suffering,  be- 
cause Our  Lord  wants  us  to  share  in  His 
Cross  and  humility  by  coming  to  us  as  the 
Divine  Crucified. 

But  in  your  Adorations,  you  must  be  happy, 
you  must  there  taste  God ;  and  if  you  are.  not 
happy  in  them,  I  tremble  for  your  vocation. 
Every  state  in  which  God  places  a  soul, 
renders  her  happy,  unless  she  is  unfaithful. 
And  remark  that  if  you  give  way  to  dis- 
couragement, if  you  have  not  put  your  whole 
heart  in  your  work,  it  is  because  your  Adora- 
tions are  faulty.  People  do  not  suffer  when 
th^y  love,  or  rather  joy  being  above  suffering, 
they  feel  only  happiness. 

But  to  enjoy  Adoration,  one  must  make 
Adoration.  He  must  give  himself  up  to  it, 
prepare  for  it,  labor  for  it.  He  must  make 
it   the    end   and   aim   of   everything   he   docs. 

You  would  wish  to  be  like  the  Israelites 
in  the  wilderness  where  the  manna  fell  every 
morning,  requiring  only  to  be  gathered.  That 
was   an   admirable   miracle   of  condescension 


PRAYER,    THE    MEANS    OF    SANCTITV      399 

which  could  not  last,  and  ia  the  Promised 
Land,  as  in  Paradise  itself,  labor  was  the 
law. 

People  enjoy  themselves  greatly  at  a  deli- 
cious festivity,  thinking  not  of  the  expense 
and  the-  trouble  of  those  that  have  prepared  it 
Do  you  want  to  enjoy  the  delights  of  prayer 
at  the  banquet  of  Adoration?  Prepare  it,  for 
you  will  taste  only  what  you  shall  have  pre- 
pared. 

III.  Your  Adorations  must  be  made  accord- 
ing to  the  method  of  the  Societ>%  the 
method    proper    to    your    vocation. 

Every  religious  body  employs  the  method 
best  suited  to  its  needs  and  its  end.  We 
have  adopted  the  method  of  the  four  ends  of 
the  Sacrifice  as  uniting  us  better  than  anS' 
other  to  Jesus  Christ,  the  first  and  perfect 
Adorer,  whose  Adorations  and  prayers  for 
the  glory  of  His  Father  and  salvation  of  souls 
we  ought  to  reproduce.  The  sacrifice  of  Jesus 
Christ  is  His  prayer  par  excellence.  It  is  the 
prayer  par  excell&nce  of  the  Church,  also, 
and  it  reunites  in  itself  all  the  duties  that 
the  creature  owes  to  the  Creator,  while  at  the 


400   PRAYER,  THE  MEANS  OF  SANCTITY 

same    time    it    expresses    all    that    we    should 
ask. 

To  adore,  to  thank,  to  ask  pardon,  and 
to  pray  in  union  with  the  Sacrifice  of  adora- 
tion, thanksgiving,  reparation,  and  petition 
of  Our  Lord  in  the  Blessed  Sacrament  — 
this  is  the  method  of  the  Society,  this  is 
what  ought  to  be  sufficient  for  you.  Other 
methods  are  not  made  for  you,  they  do  not 
correspond  to  your  grace.  If  yours  is  not  suffi- 
cient, it  is  because  you  do  jiot  know  how  to 
make  use  of  it.  You  are  sick,  or  you  are 
children  who  do  not  know  how  to  manage 
your  tools.  But  learn,  ask,  you  have  the  radical 
grace   for    it. 

But  with  this  method,  which  is,  as  it  were, 
the  plan  of  your  Adorations,  you  must  diver- 
sify them,  giving  to  each  a  distinct  character, 
in  order  to  shun  routine  and  loss  of  time. 
You    have    three    every    day. 

Now,  the  first  ought  to  be  an  Adoration 
of  virtue  in  which  the  interior  labor,  the 
instruction  ,of  your  soul  and  the  correction 
of  your  defects  should  form  the  principal 
occupation.   It  is  an  Adoration  of  perfection 


PRAYER,  THE  MEANS  OF  SANCTITY   40"' 

and  sanctity,  the  school  and  the  apprenticeship 
of  the  past  and  of  the  Eucharistic  life  of 
Jesus  whose  mysteries  and  virtues  you  are 
meditating.  You  try  to  practise  them  first 
in  your  Adoration,  and  afterward  by  taking 
the  resolutions  necessary  for  the  conforming 
of  your  life  to  them. 

The  second  ought  to  be  an  Adoration  of 
suffering,  in  which  you  unite  in  the  passion 
of  Our  Lord,  meditating  on  His  sufferings 
interior  and  exterior,  for  suffering  is  the 
perfection  of  the  virtues. 

But  the  third  ought  to  be  an  Adoration 
of  recollection,  of  rest  and  joy  in  the  good- 
ness of  Our  Lord,  upon  His  Heart  or  at  His 
feet.  There  meditate  the  joyous  and  glorious 
mysteries  of  His  life,  behold  His  love,  and 
taste  His  tenderness,  no  longer  in  labor,  but 
in  silence  and  repose, 

I  do  not  tell  you  to  seek  for  joy  only  But 
Our  Lord  will  give  it  to  you,  for  you  have 
need  of  it,  as  He  Himself  feels  the  need  of 
commynicating  it  to  you.  He  loves  so  much  to 
give  happiness!  See  how  every  time  He  mani- 
fested Himself-  to  the  Apostles,  it  was  always 


402      PRAYER,    THE    MEANS    OF    SANCTITY 

peace;  joy,  happiness.  If  you  never  taste  this, 
it   is  your   own  fault. 

I  am  very  particular  about  this,  that  you 
be  happy  in  prayer.  It  is  your  encouragement, 
it  is  the  oil  that  makes  the  wheels  run  smooth- 
ly. When  you  do  not  experience  it,  you  ought 
to  say:  "  I  am  not  faithful,  I  do  nothing  well,  " 
and  that  discourages  you.  "  I  do  nothing 
well,  —  that  is  ver>'  possible,  but  pause  not 
there.  Humble  yourself  and  begin  again.  Take 
the  means  to  do  better. 

That  may  also  be  a  trial  from  the  good 
God  The  saints  were  long  tried  in  this  way, 
and  you  are  not  yet  a  saint.  As  a  rule,  if 
you.  feel  no  happiness  in  prayer,  it  is  your 
own  fault.  Humble  yourself,  then,  and  b^ 
a  better  life,  quickly  regain  the  good  graces 
of  Our  Lord. 

If  you  do  not  reach  the  point  of  being 
happy  in  your  Adorations,  I  pity  you  greatly. 
You  will  have  no  other  consolation.  Men 
cannot  give  it  to  you,  you  will  not  find  it 
at  the  table  nor  in  repose,  for  you  will  have 
to  labor.  And,  again  what  kind  of  conso- 
lations   are    those?    True,    they    say    of    the 


PRAYER,    THE    MEANS    OF    SANCTITY      403 

religious  that  he  has  no  cares,  but  that  is  an 
insult.  Happiness  is  but  the  soul's  content- 
ment. Neither  will  the  exterior  ministry  con 
sole  you,  for  that  will  be  permitted  you  only 
as  far  as  your  spirit  of  prayer  and 'the  regu- 
larity of  your  Adorations  do  not  suffer  from  it. 

The  world  will  not  come  to  you,  and  evert 
should  you  have  some  success  among  souls, 
that  joy  will  not  be  left  to  you;  for  you 
should  be  like  John  the  Baptist  pointing  out 
Our  Lord  and  seeing  himself  as  was  right, 
abandoned  by  his  own  who  flock  around  Him 
whom  he  points  out. 

And  then,  believe  me,  nothing,  no  one  can 
really  make  you  happy  but  Our  Lord.  Your 
heart  becomes  paralyzed  whenever  you  put 
it  in  contact  with  any  other  thing  than  that 
to  which  it  is  sensitive,  namely  prayer  and 
the  good  God,  He  has  given  you  a  heart  like 
to  the  sensitive  plant,  which  can  endure  the 
touch  of  the  sunbeam  and  of  the  celestial 
dew  only,  but  which  closes  up  to  any  other. 

Be,  then,  men  of  Adoration,  have  the  spirit 
of  prayer.  Love  Adoration,  and  go  to  it 
joyfully   as   to   the   Banquet  of   heaven,    and 


404      PRAYER,   THE    MEANS    OF    SANCTITY 

then  you  will  be  happy,  you  will  serve  the 
Lord  in  the  joy  of  your  heart.  Ah !  be  content- 
ed   with    the    good    God. 


m 


^•i^5&*^^;dS2&!^^S&S&:^^fi&!a^»^S^5^a^: 


FRATERNAL  CHARITY. 


'Pf'W^^'^^'^'^'^^'^'^^'^'^'^WW^W^^^f^ 


BIDE  with  God  that  you  may  learn  His 
kindness.  Abide  in  recollection  with  your- 
selves that  you  may  discover  your  own  misery 
and  learn  how  to  despise  yourselves.  These 
are  the  two  sources  of  fraternal  charity,  and 
the  secret  of  love  for  the  brethren. 

Fraternal  charity  is  the  well-beloved  virtue 
of  Our  Lord.  It  is  the  characteristic  of  His 
true  disciples:  "  They  will  know  that  you 
are  My  disciples,  if  you  have  love  one  for 
the   other.  " 

This  is  the  whole  law,  says  Saint-  John. 
He  who  practises  it,  is  a  good  religious. 
Charity  alone  is  sufficient,  for  it  is  the  Lord's 
precept. 

He  who  loves  his  brother  loves  God.  Our 
Lord  makes  over  to  the  neighbor  the  right  that 
He  Himself  has  to  our  love,  and  if  we  do  not 
love  the  neighbor  whom  we  see,  how  shall 
we  love  God  whom  we  do  not  see? 

Jesus  Christ  calls  charity  a  new  precept. 
Although  men  had  to  love  one  another  before 
His    advent,    yet    not    having   seen    the    love 


406  FRATERNAL     CHARITY 


of  the  Saviour,  they  did  not  know  how  to 
love  one  another  supcrnaturally.  Since  He 
has  made  Himself  our  Brother  and  died  for  us, 
we  know  what  we  owe  to  all  men,  who  in  Him 
have  become  our  brethren. 

But  fraternal  charity  is  still  more  gravely 
imposed  on  us  who  live  by  tlic  Blessed  Sacra- 
ment, for  it  is  the  law  of  the  Last  Supper  and 
the  virtue  ot  the  EucharibL. 

What,  then,  are  the  characteristics  of  frater- 
nal charity?  The  same  as  those  of  Our  Lurd;> 
love  for  us. 

First,  Our  Lord  loved  us  for  ourselves,  and 
not  for  Hiinself.  Love  that  loves  others  for 
self,  is  only  egoism.  Wc  must,  then,  love 
our  brethren  for  their  spiritual  good,  and 
even  for  their  temporal  good  according  as 
charity  demandb  it.  That  is  love  pure  and 
supernatural. 

We  ought  to  love  our  brethren  with  whom 
we  live  more  than  any  one  else:  "He  who 
loves  not  his  own  is  worse  than  a  pagan.  " 
Our  charity  ought  to  be  extended  to  the  body 
and  the  soul  of  our  brother,  because  he  has 
given  to  the  Society  his  body  and  soul.   For 


FRATERNAL     CHARITY  407 

his  soul  you  are  bound  to  pray,  and  keep  him 
from  committing  a  fault  when  you  can.  To 
love  souls,  to  hinder  God  from  being  offended, 
this  is  what  rouses  zeal  in  Apostles  and  good 
priests.  After  the  service  of  His  Person,  noth- 
mg  glorifies  Our  Lord  so  much  as  spiritual 
charity  toward  our  brethren.  There  are  in 
it  two  fruits  for  His  glory,  that  of  the  act  you 
perform,  and  that  of  the  brother  whom  you 
prevent  from  falling. 

Fraternal  charity  possesses  wonderful  mflu- 
ence.  It  never  labors  in  vain,  even  when  not 
obtaining  what  it  seeks.  The  merit  of  it  is 
yours  who  have  tried  to  do  good,  but  have  not 
succeeded..  In  heaven,  the  saints  are  reward- 
ed for  the  good  they  have  done"  to  souls  who 
arc  damned,  in  spite  of  their  efforts.  In  tHe 
same  way,  a  Superior  who  turns  all  his  zeal 
to  the  practice  of  the  Rule  has  the  same  merit 
whether  his  subjects  do  or  do  not  hearken 
to  his  admonitions.  To  give  an  alms  is  a  good 
thing  even  though  the  unfortunate  recipient 
will   make  use  o£  it  for   an   evil   purpose 

Have,  then,  charity  for  your  brethren.  Let 
your  first  love   be  for   iheui.    It   would   be   a 


408  FRATERNAL     CHARITY 

great  misfortune  for  you  to  have  more  charity 
for  people  out-doors  than  for  those  of  the 
family.  You  owe  yourself  to  your  neighbor 
only  according  to  the  measure  of  your  mission, 
and    not    to    the   full    extent    of    charity. 

In  your  prayers,  yes,  be  universal ;  in  action, 
remain  in  the  limits  of  obedience.  And  still 
in  your  prayers,  you  ought  to  place  your 
Eucharistic  family  before  all  others,  even 
your  parents  themselves  coming  after.  You 
belong  more  to  your  family  of  grace  thaii  to 
your  family  of  flesh.  You  owe  yourself  to  the 
first  by  the  sacrifice  of  the  second.i  I  know 
that  the  heart  will  retain  more  natural  senti- 
ment for  the  mother  from  whom  you  have 
received  life;  but  for  the  Society,  your  mother 
by  adoption,  ought  to  be  the  first  sentiments 
of  grace,  the  first  supernatural  love.  Your, 
heart  ought  to  be  where  are  your  affairs 
and  your  life.  "  Man  shall  leave  father  and 
mother,  and  adhere  to  his  wife, "  says  the 
Lord.  You  have  espoused  the  Society.  Put  her 
before  everything  else. 

Apply  prayer  to  the  soul  of  your  parents, 
your  relatives.    That  is  a   duty   of  gratitude. 


FRATERNAL     CHARITY  409 

But  with  their  temporal  concerns,  you  ought 
no  longer  to  busy  youreself.  In  any  kind 
of  necessity,  obedience  will  tell  you  what  is  to 
be  done. 

You  have,  also,  renounced  individual  charity 
to  the  poor.  Remember  those  unfortunates 
before  God.  That  is  all  you  can  do.  It  is  a 
great  sacrifice  not  to  be  able  to  give,  and  they 
who  have  had  the  habit  of  giving  alms  feel  it 
keenly.  Let  your  heart  and  the  world  cry  out 
against  you,  for  you  are  poor,  and  you  can  no 
longer  dispose  of  a  cent.  To  satisfy  the  pre- 
cept, the  Superior  will  give  alms  in  your  name 

As  for  you,  remember  that  every  good 
thing  that  God  does  not  demand  is  evil,  and 
that  your  vow  is  opposed  to  your  liberality. 
And  so,  your  brethren  before  all. 

Now,  love  them  for  the  pure  love  of  God 
and  themselves  in  God,  and  not  for  any  seek- 
ing for  their  gratitude  and  a  return.  Render 
them  all  the  services  that  you  can  and  that 
are  proper;  and  when  you  do  them  a  good 
turn,  let  it  be  for  this  motive  alone.  Then 
you  will  not  complain  that  they  do  not  thank 
you  for  it.  Did  you  do  it  for  thanks?  But  if 

The, Divine  Eucharist.  27 


410  FRATERNAL     CHARITY  , 

it  is  for  God,  what  need  have  you  of  the  thanks 
of  men?  You  have  done  what  you  ought,  and 
you  waste  your  charity  and  deprive  God  of 
His  glory  when  you  want  a  personal  return. 
I  say,  even  if  they  want  to  testify  too  much 
gratitude  to  you,  you  ought  to  take  offence 
at  it  as  at  an  injury.  You  have  done  only 
your  duty  in  rendering  service. 

Let  your  charity  extend  to  all  your  brethren 
without  distinction.  All  are  your  bre::hren, 
and  all  have  equal  rights,  although  you  do 
not  owe  to  all  the  same  exterior  testimonies. 
Priests  by  their  character  have  a  right  to  more 
honor  and  respect.  They  are  priests,  and  as 
such  represent  the  Sovereign  Priest,  Jesus 
Christ.  They  are  kind  toward  you  and  treat 
you  with  condescension,  and  to  them  you  owe 
very  profound  respect.  Never  let  a  laic  pre- 
sume to  think  himself  equal  to  a  priest,  and 
treat  him  with  familiarity.  Never  regard  him 
as  a  comrade,  but  as  a  superior.  Remain 
in  your  place;  and  if  priests  are  willing  to 
descend  to  you.  take  advantage  of  it  only  to 
lower  yourself  still  more. 

Another  characteristic  of  Our  Lord's  charity 


FRATERNAL     CHARITY  411 

is  humility.  Our  Lord  looked  upon  Himself 
only  as  the  servant  of  His  Apostles.  Never  put 
yourself  above  others.  Never  esteem  yourself 
more  than  they  on  account  of  your  knowledge 
or  virtues. 

Our  Lord  treated  His  Apostles  with  re- 
spect, for  charity  ought  to  be  respectful.  Famil- 
iarity is  pride  and  contempt.  Our  Lord  rep- 
rehended His  Apostles  when  necessary,  and 
He  gave  them  good  advice  for  their  correc- 
tion; but  when  He  reprehended  them,  He 
did  not  lower  them.  He  taught  them  to  be 
respectful  to  one  another,  and  if  He  frequently 
told  them  that  He  loved  them,  it  was  that 
they  might  behold  in  one  another  the  objects 
of  His  love,  His  privileged  friends.  I  repeat 
It,  the  charity  which  does  not  pay  honor 
is  pride.  It  builds  for  self  a  throne  out  of 
the  abasement  of  others. 

Perhaps  your  brother  has  fewer  gifts  than 
you,  less  knowledge,  less  virtue.  In  that  he 
owes  you  respect.  But  would  you  wish  on  that 
account  a  place  above  him,  and  treat  him 
haughtily?  That  would  be  natural  and  w:ordly. 
If  you  want  to  show  personalities  you  must  first 


412  FRATERNAL     CHARITY 

attain  superiority.  But  then  it  would  not  be 
love  that  animates  you,  but  a  worldly  point  of 
honor.  Now,  there  is  no  question  of  that  here. 

We  must,  it  is  true,  for  the  sake  of  order, 
observe  the  law  of  precedence;  but  that  is 
not  for  the  sake  of  persons,  but  for  the  dignity 
and  maintenance  of  order.  It  is  the  hierarchy 
established  by  God  even  in  heaven,  and  by 
Our  Lord  in  the  Church.  Apart  from  that, 
I  beg  of  you,  entertain  none  of  that  sensitiv^e- 
ness  which  savors  of  ambition  and  wordly 
vanity.  Let  honor  be  cheerfully  rendered  by 
every  one  and  sought  by  no  one.  Honor  the 
least  of  your  brethren  with  an  unaffected  and 
cordial  love,  not  measured  by  his  qualities 
nor  by  your  own  natural  sympathy,  for  all 
that  is  human. 

What  you  ought  to  honor  in  your  brother 
is  the  grace  that  Jesus  Christ  has  infused 
into  his  soul,  his  vocation  to  the  service  of 
the  same  King,  Jesus  Christ  Himself  who 
dwells  in  him  and  comes  to  him  by  Commu 
nion;  in  fine,  Jesus  Christ  lienors  your  bro- 
ther, do  you  honor  him,  also.  He  serves  the 
Master  as  well  as  you  and,  if  he  possccses  the 


FRATERNAL     CHARITY  413 

appearance  of  virtues,  you  ought  to  believe 
that  he  really  possesses  them.  Conscience 
makes  this  an  obligation  of  justice  for  you. 
That  humble  brother,  that  ignoramus,  will, 
perhaps,  be  higher  than  you  in  glory.  Honor 
in  him  the  future  prince  of  God's  glory;  and 
even  were  he  only  the  reliquary  of  Jesus 
Christ,  who  comes  into  his  heart,  would  not 
that  be  sufficient  to  clothe  him  with  esteem 
and  respect? 

Again,  charity  ought  to  be  devoted.  Honor 
is  not  enough.  One  must  give  help,  be  devoted 
to  the  soul  of  one's  brother,  pray  often  that 
he  may  become  more  holy,  that  he  may 
arrive  at  perfection.  When  God  shovvrs  us 
a  defect  in  him,  it  is  in  order  that  we  may 
correct  it,  at  least  by  prayer;  and  we  fail  in 
charity,  if  we  do  it  not  according  to  our  power. 

As  to  exterior  charity,  the  Rule  marks  out 
for  you  your  duties.  If  you  have  the  care 
of  him  help  him,  do  it  devotedly.  If  you 
are  associated  with  one  of  your  brethren 
in  some  employment .  of  which  he  has  charge^ 
you  become  his  inferior,  and  you  owe  him  sub- 
mission in  all  that  regards  that  employment. 


414  FRATERNAL     CHARITY 

As  to  souls  outside,  you  must  be  very 
devoted  to  them,  but  by  prayer.  You  must 
have  a  universal  heart  both  to  love  souls 
and  to  labor  for  their  salvation,  but  principally 
by  the  apostolate  of  prayer  and  mortification 
It  is  more  fruitful  than  that  of  the  word;  it 
is  the  beginning  of  martyrdom  and  perfect 
charity.  We  behold  persons  entering  religion 
in  order  to  be  victims  for  souls.  By  their 
immolation,  they  win  more  souls  than  all 
preachers  together.  They  are  the  mediators  of 
salvation. 

Practise,  then,  charity  always  and  in  all 
things,  for  the  occasions  are  numberless.  If 
they  do  not  come  to  you,  seek  them.  When 
you  are  free  to  choose  between  two  good 
works,  one  personal,  the  other  charitable,  take 
the   latter.    It    has    double   merit. 

But.  above  all,  I  repeat,  let  your  charity 
be  humble.  Proud  charity  is  egoism,  or  forced 
charity 

Ponder  upon  these  words:  Am  I  super- 
naturally  charitable?  Do  I  honor  my  brethren 
by  my  charity?    Am  I   devoted   to  them? 

How  many  sins  are  committed  against  char- 


FRATERNAL     CHARITY  415 

ity  in  thought  by  rash  judgments!  Remember 
what  will  distress  you  most  at  the  moment  of 
death,  after  thoughts  against  chastity,  will  be 
the  remembrance  of  those  against  char- 
ity. Who  has  made  you  the  judge  of  your 
brethren?  This  mquietude  at  death,  according 
to"  Saint  Vincent  Ferrer,  is  the  punishment  that 
always  attacks  that  sort  of  sin,  even  in  this 
world.  The  first  movements  of  rash  judgment 
are  of  no  account;  but  to  encourage  them,  to 
acquiesce,  is  to  be  our  brother's  murderer 
in  our  own  heart. 

Again  by  words.  Oh,  with  how  many  faults 
pious  and  religious  souls  have  to  reproacK 
themselves  on  this  point! 

There  are  still  other  sins  against  charity 
by  act  and  by  omission.  Let  us  examine 
ourselves  on  them,  and  adopt  the  means  to 
correct    them. 

He  who  does  not  sin  against  the  neigh- 
bor, is  almost  free  from  sin  against  God, 
because  love  is  one,  although  it  h'as  a  double 
object  and,  as  it  were,  two  channels. 


SIMPLICITY. 


^  , 


& 


;HE  just  man  walks  simply;  and  the  im- 
pious man,  deceitfully. 

I  counsel  you  earnestly  to  make  simplic- 
ity the  mould  and  the  foundation  of  your 
life.  This  \drtue  was  recommended  by  Our 
Lord:  "Unless  you  become  as  little  chil- 
dren, you  shall  not  enter  into  the  kingdom 
of  God.  "  It  is  the  form  of  humility  and 
Its  vesture.  It  is  poverty  of  spirit  beatified 
by  the   Divine   Master. 

If  you  have  given  yourself  to  Our  Lord 
no  longer  to  have  any  personality,  you  ought 
to  be  simple  as  the  little  child  that  one 
carries  in  the  arms  or  leads  by  the  hand, 
that  acts  only  by  its  mother.  Our  Lord  will 
be  your  wisdom  and  your*  prudence. 

One  of  the  characteristics  of  holiness  is 
simplicity,  while  one  of  the  principal  signs 
of    spiritual    decadence    is    duplicity. 

To  sanctify  one's  self  and  to  be  happy 
in  the  life  of  prayer  and  Rule  which  we  have 
embraced,  w^e  must  be  simple. 


SIMPLICITY  417 


I.  First  of  all,  simple  with  God.  "  He 
who  walks  simply,  walks  securely,  "  says  the 
Holy  Spirit.  This  simplicity  with  God  is  pre 
cisely  the  confidence  with  which  a  soul  places 
herself  in  the  hands  of  God,  because  she 
kno^vs  His  goodness.  She  abandons  herself 
to  everything-  that  He  may  will  and  she  is 
disquieted  by  nothing  that  may  happen  to 
her.  She  beholds  only  the  will  of  God  in 
persons  and  events'  the  most  varied,  and  this 
singleness  of  view  is  already  great  holiness^ 
because  it  shows  her  everything  at  one  glance, 
and   she   is   surprised    at   nothing 

When  a  soul  is  troubled  and  disquieted, 
she  is  no  longer  simple.  She  is  looking  down 
at  her  feet,  instead  of  keeping  her  glance 
raised  above  her  head.  We  must  be  like 
the  simple,  candid  child  that  hides  nothing, 
that  does  all  its  mother  wishes  and  only 
because  its  mother  wishes  without  questioning 
whethfer  it  is  good  or  bad.  Thmk,  too.  that  God 
is  good,  that  He  wishes  to  be  your  good,  and 
that  you  cannot  glorify  Him  more  than  by  do- 
ing  His   will. 

When  we  possess  this  simplicity,  everythmg 


418  SIMPLICITY 


appears   possible,    nothing    any    longer    costs. 
It  is   enough  that  God  wills  it. 

II.  Be  simple  toward  your  Superiors,  that 
they  may  not  groan  under  their  burden,  for 
that    would    not    be    advantageous    to    you 

A  Superior  is  a  shepherd  who  has  charge  of 
souls.  He  answers  for  your  life  and  your  soul. 
Lessen  the  burden  for  him.  Act  so  that  he 
may  approach  you  without  fear  of  seeing 
his  orders  or  his  remonstrances  taken  bad- 
ly, misinterpreted,  and  therefore  rendered 
capable  of  producing  more  harm  than  good. 

I  have  remarked  that,  when  the  members 
of  a  Community  are  not  simple  with  their 
Superior,  God  does  not  bless  it.  For,  under 
stand,  God  blesses  a  Superior  more  than  all 
the  religious,  and  He  blesses  the  religious 
only  through  him.  All  the  graces  are  de- 
posited in  him,  who  is  the  head,  that  they 
may  flow  down  upon  the  members,  as  the  oil 
of  anointing  flowed  from  the  head  of  Aaron 
down  to  the  hem  of  his  garment.  But  God 
never  blesses  religious  who  are  against  their 
Superior  in  points  of  duty  and  of  his  charge 
Vou    understand   clearly    that    God   is    always 


SIMPLICITY  419 


one  with  Himself,  and  that  He  cannot  go 
against  him  whom  He  has  chosen  to  represent 
Him. 

Ah!  my  brethren,  how  painful  it  is  to 
be  Superior!  It  should,  indeed,  be  the  good 
God  who  nails  you  on  this  cross;  for  unless 
he  be  a  proud  man,  devoured  with  the  desire 
of  shining  before  others,  or  an  avaricious 
man  who  wants  at  any  cost  to  handle  a 
little  money,  never  would  one  dare  to  desire 
such  a  charge.  Seen  from  a  distance,  it  is 
fine,,  perhaps;  but  close  at  hand,  it  is  a  far 
other  thing.  If  there  is  one  unfortunate  being, 
it  is  a  Superior  Never  has  he  a  moment 
to  taste  the  happiness  of  peace.  He  belongs  to 
all  and  to  everyone.  He  has  to  sacrifice 
himself   on  a  rude  cross. 

But  there  are  honors  attached  to  it!  — 
What  honors?  Ah!  if  you  knew  what  value 
lb  placed  on  these  honors  by  the  Superiors- 
General  who  govern  the  great  Orders,  who 
command  legions  of  religious,  and  whose  posi- 
tion is  so  high  at  Rome  and  in  the  Church! 
No,  they  are  there  only  to  behold  misery, 
to    receive    only    crowns    of    thorns.    And    to 


420  SIMPLICITY 


whom  do  they  confide  all  their  anxiety  and 
trials?  They  have  to  stifle  them  in  their 
own  heart  and  turn  to  God 

Never  envy  your  Superiors,  but  pity  them. 
They  have  taken  upon  themselves  your  respon- 
sibility and.  at  the  Day  of  Judgment,  they 
will  ha\e  to  answer  for  you.  To  desire 
superiority,   is  to   have  lost    one's   head 

Honor  your  Superiors  simply,  without  flatter- 
ing them.  The  flatterer  despises  or  insults 
him  upon  whom  he  fawns  Whoever  you  are. 
be  perfectly  simple  with  them  Genius  is 
simple,  while  false  knowledge  is  puffed  up 
Believe  me,  be  simple  as  children  Vou  may 
be  more  learned  than  your  Superior  in  many 
things,  but  in  the  knowledge  of  his  charge, 
never!  Superiors  receive  from  God  special 
gifts  for  themselves  and,  above  all,  the  gift 
of  penetrating  hearts.  It  would  seem  that 
God  gives  them  this  privilege  of  maternal 
love,  which  divines  the  heart  of  the  child. 
I  generally  know  of  what  you  are  thinking, 
in  what  state  you  are,  what  you  want,  even 
before  you  have  told  me. 

Be   simple   with    them   in   the   relations    of 


SIMPLICITY  421 


life;  be  a  child  toward  your  father.  Many 
fail  in  simplicity  not  daring  to  tell  their 
needs  and  troubles,  either  hiding  them  or 
telling  them  only  by  half;  but  the  good  God 
tells  the  Superior'  all.  The  Superior  has  gen- 
eral graces  for  the  whole  family,  and  every 
one  receives  from  God  only  in  proportion 
to  the  measure  of  his  confidence  in  His 
representative.  Be  simple,  then,  m  making 
requests.  Before  asking  for  anything  whatever, 
cxamme  whether  the  Superior  can  grant  your 
request  without  infringing  upon  the  rights  of 
the  Rule,  and  without  making  an  exception  or 
showing  personal  favor  in  your  regard.  Next 
ask  God  whether  your  desire  is  according  to 
His  Heart.  After  having  thus  prayed,  if 
you  still  have  the  wish  for  something,  oh, 
go  confidently  and  simply  make  it  known! 
God  will  inspire  His  servant  to  do  the  right 
thing.  If  you  hesitate,  if  you  are  timid,  you 
are  a  stranger,  and  not  a  son  of  the  family. 
The  Superior  would  wish  always  to  say  yes, 
because  he  is  a  father.  To  refuse,  gives  him 
pain;  but  he  is  obliged  to  do  it  when  any  one 
asks    something    through    mere    whim,    which 


422  SIMPLICITY 


might  be  hurtful,  or  which  might  militate 
against  the  general  good.  To  accede  to  such  a 
request,  would  be  to  commit  a  fault  that 
he  would  have  to  expiate  in  purgatory. 

When  you  are  in  recreation  and  the  Supe- 
rior presents  himself,  after  saluting  him,  con- 
tinue the  conversation  upon  whatever  topic 
It  may  have  turned,  for  that  will  interest  him. 
He  is  a  father  who  wants  to  join  in  the 
pleasures  of  his  children.  If  you  interrupt  your 
conversation,  if  you  change  the  subject,  it  is 
a  sign  that  you  talk  of  things  you  do  not 
want  him  to  hear.  Then,  were  they  not  bad? 

Well  now,  you  see  clearly  that  simplicity 
toward  Superiors  brings  happiness,  for  every 
family  has  its  centre.  The  hardness-  of  the  dia- 
mond comes  from  the  cohesion  of  its  mole- 
cules. The  Community  in  which  inferiors  are 
united  with  their  Superiors,  resists  every  at- 
tempt   of    the   demon   to   dissolve   it. 

Pay  attention  to  this.  Nev^er  i;riticize  and 
never  listen  to  criticisms  on  the  acts  of  your 
Superiors,  whoever  they  may  be.  Even  should 
your  Superior  have  all  the  defects  in  the 
world,  pray,  suffer,  but  never  judge.  The  good 


SIMPLICITY  423 


God  will  take  his  part,  while  you  attack  the 
very  heart  of  the  life  of  obedience. 

Ohl  there  are,  unhappily,  in  religious  houses 
always  some  who  sow  cockle  by  criticizing 
Superiors.  Whoever  you  may  be,  if  they  criti- 
cize him  before  you,  protest,  silence  the  critic, 
no  matter  who  he  is,  were  he  even  a  priest,  a 
savant,  eminent  for  all  qualities.  Do  not  suffer 
a  whole  society  to  perish  through  the  pride- 
ancl  discontent  of  a  single  individual,  for  that 
is  what  would  happen.  God  treats  subjects 
as  they  treat  their  Superiors.  As  the  subjects, 
so  the  Superior.  God  gives  the  subjects  only 
what  they  deserve  and,  if  you  have  a  bad 
Superior,  it  is  because  you  have  deserved  it. 
Change  then,  be  humble  and  submit,  and  God 
will  give  you  a  father. 

Oh,  I  beg  of  you,  never  suffer  fault-find- 
ing  in  your  presence.  Remember  the  admir- 
able conduct  of  Constantine  refusing  to  judge 
the  Bishops  accused  before  him.  He  who 
curiously  scrutinizes  majesty  will  be  crushed 
by  its  weight,  that  is,  he  who  searches  into 
and  reveals  the  defects  of  those  in  authority 
will  be  cursed  by  God  as  Cham  was  byNoc. 


424  SIMPLICITY 


It  is  known  by  experience  that  God  never 
ble§ses  a  religious  who  does  not  walk  simply 
before  his  Superior.  And  the  lower  the  posi- 
tion from  which  the  Superior  has  come,  the 
less .  his  learning,  the  less  remarkable  for 
natural  qualities,  the  greater  is  the  offence, 
the  more  terrible  the  vengeance,  for  God 
is    more    careful    to    protect    the    weak. 

III.  Be  bimple  among  your  brethren  and 
with  yourselves.  Charity  springs  fiom  truth. 
Never  falsify,  not  even  in  joke.  Remember 
that  Our  Lord  held  lying  and  pretence  in 
horror. 

Love  and  respect  one  another  as  brethren. 
Let  criticism  of  the  neighbor  find  no  place 
m  your  conversation.  Have  no  eyes  to  see 
only  defects,  have  simple  eyes.  It  is  for  God 
and  the  Superior  to  see  defects,  and  to  dis- 
cern the  goats  from  the  sheep.  Be  always 
simple  among  yourselves,  saying  simply  what 
you  thmk  in  the  hearing  of  all,  without  parties, 
without  asides.  The  simplicity  of  the  dove 
is  the  bond  of  peace. 

I  except  our  relations  with  strangers;  then 
the    prudence    of    the    serpent    is    necessary. 


SIMPLICITY  425 


Never  speak  to  strangers  of  the  affairs  of  the 
house.  It  is  only  a  busybody  who  recounts 
to  every  one  the  family  secrets.  Discretion 
is  necessary.  No  one  ought  to  betray  author- 
ity, and  indiscretion  is  unpardonable.  He 
who  knows  not  how  to  be  discreet,  is  a 
conceited  person  who  can  be  pumped  by 
flattery.  Listen,  speak  little,  edify  outsiders 
by  your  silence.  Be  well-bred  and  polite,  be 
gentlemanly  in  your  conduct,  for  your  voca- 
tion elevates  you  to  a  noble  condition.  Honor 
by  your  manners  and  command  honor  for 
your  character  without  affectation  or  mincing, 
but  with  true  supernatural  charity,  which  is 
marked  by  urbanity  and  refinement  under 
all    circumstances. 

Be  meek  and  humble  toward  all,  and  let 
the  world  talk,  if  it  does  not  find  you  aimable 
enough  for  it.  Aim  at  nothing  else  than  the 
good  God.    What  is  all  the  rest  to  you! 

Blessed  are  the  simple!  They  possess  God, 
His  grace,  and  His  power  of  action.  . 


The  Divine  Euchariiit. 


The  EARNESTNESS  of  LIFE. 


|T  is  to  be  desired  that  this  Retreat  should 
have  for  one  of  its  results  what  I  am 
now  going  to  propose  to  you,  namely,  that 
you  become  earnest  men. 

Had  I  begun  the  Retreat  with  this  truth, 
as  I  might  have  done,  I  should  have  missed 
my  aim.  You  would  all  have  sought  after 
recollection,  but  it  is  not  of  recollection  that  I 
wish  to  speak.  Recollection  is  only  the  flower 
and  the  fruit.  What  I  want  is,  that  the  charac- 
ter itself  become  serious.  Recollection  is 
capable  of  more  or  less  degrees,  it  varies 
according  to  the  thoughts  and  the  states  of 
the  soul.  What  I  desire  for  you  is  a  character 
founded  always  and  in  all  things  on  earnest- 
ness. He  who  is  not  earnest  of  character 
and  heart,  is  capable  of  nothing.  We  call 
such  a  man  light-headed. 

Give  no  credence  to  his  words  He  is  not 
thinking  of  what  he  is  saying,  he  speaks 
without  reflection.  His  speech  flows  incoher- 
ently, showing  very  plainly  his  want  of  judg- 
ment. A  man  of  this  character,  who  speaks  to 


THE     EARNESTNESS     OF     LIFE  427 

every  one  of  everything  at  random,  is  in  the 
world  called  a  fop. 

He  who  does  not  reflect  necessarily  forms 
false  judgments,  for  judgment  is  the  result 
of  ideas  compared  with  one  another.  But  the 
frivolous  man  gives  himself  no  trouble  on  this 
pomt> 

He  has  memory,  perhaps,  and  miagination, 
but  he  acts  by  impulse.  Instead  of  one  thing, 
he  begins  ten,  he  promises,  but  does  not 
perform. 

What  dominates  in  him  is  the  heart.  Take 
him  m  passing  When  sentiment  and  impulse 
pass,  there  is  nothing  left.  What  would  you  do 
with    such    a    subject    in    the     religious    life? 

Do  not  try  to  educate  him.  You  will  lose 
your  time.  Occupy  him  in  exterior  things, 
for   he   will    never   apply    to   serious   study. 

What  a  misfortune-  are  these  light-headed 
men  in  the  world  when  they  possess  wealth' 
What  rules  the  world  and  drowns  it  in  scan- 
dals, is  this  light-headedness.  In  religion  it  is 
a  radical  evil,  and  a  light  man  will  always 
be  a  poor  religious.  The  grace  of  the  virtues 
is  infused,   but  theu"  practice   is  acquired  by 


428  THE     EARNESTNESS     OF     LIFE 

subsequent  labor  and  attention.  They  must  be 
cultivated,  and  that  is  what  a  frivolous  man 
will  never  do. 

Virtue  is  a  plant  from  Calvary,  which  Our 
Lord  confides  to  us  that  we  may  cultivate 
it  with  blood  and  tears.  Its  strength  is  in  its 
root,  which  strikes  into  the  soil  of  the  soul. 
If  through  frivolity  you  leave  that  root  un- 
covered, the  shrub  will  die. 

Virtue  calls  for  struggles  m  which  one 
must  be  skilful,  able,  and  vigilant.  A  man 
has  before  him  an  enemy  always  new,  who 
endlessly  varies  his  attacks.  If  you  bjing 
against  him  only  the  piety  of  sentiment,  you 
will  not  know  how  to  baffle  his  snares,  you  will 
not  even  perceive  them  in  time.  He  will  sur- 
prise you  a  thousand  times,  and  you  will  have 
received  a  wound  even  before  you  dream 
of  resisting. 

Knowledge  to  lead  the  interior  life  is 
necessary,  a  very  great  intelligence  as  to 
the  needs  of  one's  soul.  For  obedience  and 
the  virtues  of  the  common  life,  there  is  not 
so  much  need  of  mind;  but  to  lead  the 
life    of    prayer,    our    life    of    Adoration,    the 


THE     EARNESTNESS     OF     LIFE  429 

mind,  as  well  as  the  heart,  must  be  exercised. 
You  must  know  haw  to  study  self  and  to 
study  Our  Lord.  You  ought  constantly  to 
have  your  eye  on  your  Model,  to  measure 
Him,  and  then  to  refer  those  measurements 
to  yourself  and  your  duties.  It  is  an  affair 
of  constant  observation,  of  intelligent  study, 
which  demands  of  us  seriousness. 

Books  are  not  sufficient;  personal  labor 
IS  necessary.  One  must  study,  must  scrutinize 
with  his  mind  and  his  grace.  Our  Lord  and  His 
mysteries.  His  intentions  in  His  Eucharistic 
life,  and  in  His  ways  over  souls.  A  man 
who  does  not  know  how  to  reflect,  will  never 
persevere  in  our  vocation,  unless  he  con 
demns  himself  to  recite  myriads  of  Rosaries. 
To  spend  your  three  hours  daily  ion  the 
prie-Dieu,  you  must  be  learned  and  eloquent, 
educated  and  very  intelligent.  I  do  not  mean 
natural  intelligence,  but  that  which  grace 
confers,  which  Our  Lord  communicates  to  him 
who  is  serious,  and  who  earnestly  applies 
himself  to  live  the  interior  life.  Experience 
confirms  what  I  say.  If  you  take  the  most 
pious  people  of  the  world,  even  priests  them; 


430  THE     EARNESTNESS     OF     LIFE 

selves,  and  put  them  on  this  prie-Dieu  for 
our  three  hours,  they  will  not  know  how 
to  employ  their  time.  It  is  your  grace  for 
you,  but  correspond  to  it  by  earnestness  of 
life.  Reflect  on  and  reason  out  your  own  case. 

All  who  have  left  us  found  fault  with  Ador- 
ation. They  did  not  know  what  to  do  during 
it,  and  they  grew  tired.  Pay  attention,  then, 
to    yourselves ! 

Correct  that  le\dty  which  carries  you  away 
or,  at  least,  prevents  your  enjoying  Our 
Lord  in  Adoration,  understanding  Him,  and 
discovering  the  ravishing  marvels  of  His  love. 

The  earnest  mind  is  that  which  lives  on 
the  truth  of  God  and  things.  It  abides  in 
truth,   in   reality,   and   not   in   sentiment. 

The  serious  man  is  the  man  of  duty.  He 
does  not  act  because  it  so  pleases  him,  but 
because  his  duty  commands  him.  He  searches 
into  the  reason  of  his  duty  and  of  all  his 
actions,  in  order  to  accomplish  them  accord- 
ing to  their  spirit,  but  not  because  he  wants 
to  know  the  reason  of  the  command  be- 
fore obeying.  He  obeys  at  once,  at  the  first 
signal,   because   it    is    his   duty.     But    instead 


THE     EARNESTNESS     OF     LIFE  431 

of  doing  so  mechanically,  he  fixes  his 
thoughts  on  the  glory  that  God  wall  derive 
from  that  action,  upon  the  good  that  will 
redound  from  it  to  the  Society  and  to  his 
own  soul.  In  this  spirit,  he  applies  to  what 
he  has  to  do,  and  does  it  better.  He  recoil? 
not  before  any  difficulty.  JHe  looks  at  it 
attentively,  conquers  it,  or  turns  it  aside. 
The  frivolous  man  perseveres  only  as  long 
as  he  feels  a  taste  for  anything.  He  stops 
short  before  a  difficulty/,  or  when  his  enthusi- 
asm  cools. 

The  earnest  man  dissects  the  virtues.  "  I 
want  to  be  humble,  for  instance,  in  such  or 
such  a  conjuncture,  for  such'  or  such  motives. 
Why?  Because,  sinner  that  I  am,  I  must 
repair  my  pride,  because  Jesus  was  humble, 
because  this  virtue  opens  hoaven  and  is  the 
measure  of  glory. "  He  scrutinizes  reasons 
and  motives,  he  persuades  his  own  mind 
about  them,  and  he  ends  by  forming'  a  strong 
desire    for    humility. 

If  you  act  through  impression  and  sen- 
timent, once  the  time  has  passed, — and  it 
does    not    last    long,— nothing    remains. 


432  THE     EARNESTNESS     OF     LIFE 

Take  a  man,  pious,  but  light-minded,  and 
a  sinner  only  just  converted,  but  earnest, 
and  lead  them  both  at  the  same  time  on  to 
perfection.  The  second  will  soon  outstrip  the 
first.  He,  says  the  Imitation^  who  labors  zeal- 
ously will  make  more  profit  in  spite  of  his 
having  more  passions  to  overcome  than  the 
man  of  a  good  natural  disposition  who  applies 
with  less  care  to  the  acquisition  of  the 
virtues. 

One  must,  be  earnest  in  ernploying  usefully 
all  one's  time  for  God  and  his  soul.  The  Rule 
cannot  fix  everything,  and  in  what  it  imposes 
much  is  still  left  to  the  inclination  of  individ- 
uals. It  furnishes  the  form  and  the  method, 
but  how  varied  is  its  application!  This  is 
the  work  left  to  each  one.  What  %vill  you 
do  with  this  latitude  if  you  have  a  light  mind? 
You  will  lose  your  time,  it  will  pass,  all 
will  be  carried  away  by  this  unfortunate 
defect.  You  will  not  know  how  to  converse 
with  Our  Lord,  you  will  not  hear  His  voice, 
you  will  not  understand  His  Spirit,  and  He 
will  not  be  able  to  act  upon  you. 

And    again,    v  hat    graces    can    He    intrust 


THE     EARNESTNESS     OF     LIFE  433 

fo  you?  Would  you  have  all  your  graces 
fall  on  the  highway  or  among  thorns,  which 
will  grow  up  and  stifle  them?  The  light 
mind  is  the  great  highway  sw'ept  by  every 
wind,  traversed  by  all  passers-by,  and  on 
which    nothing    rests. 

One  must  be  earnest,  in  order  to  act  for 
the  best  in  certain  cases  in  which  he  cannot 
take  counsel  with  any  one,»  Important  em- 
ployments may  be  confided  to  you,  yoa  may 
have  responsibility,  accidents  may  happen, 
and  you  are  obliged  to  act  for  yourself 
But  you  are  light-minded?  You  will  know 
only  }iow  to  compromise  yourself,  and 
thereby  render  yourself  unfit  to  serve  the 
Society. 

Labor,  then,  in  an  orderly  manner  to  ac- 
quire virtues.  Pursue  the  work  with  the 
spirit  of  observation,  with  constancy.  Proceed 
always  by  principle.  God's  way  over  a  soul 
whom  He  wills  to  lead  on  to  sanctity  is  to 
give  her,  above  all,  a  sei-ious  mind.  Even 
before  He  shows  her  His  grace  of  choice,. 
He  makes  her  reflect.  When  He  spoke  to 
the    Prophets,    the    Lord    began    by    rousing 


434  THE     EARNESTNESS     OF     LIFE 

their  attention;  and  when  they  transmitted 
His  orders  to  the  people,  they  said:  "  Hear,  O 
Israel,  hearl  " 

On  Sinai,  He  multiplied  prodigies  in  order 
to  strike  the  mind  of  the  inconstant  people, 
of  all  nations  the  most  light-minded  in  their 
resolves.  And  when  Our  Lord  wanted  to 
form  His  Apostles,  He  took  them  into  the 
desert  with  Himself,  that  nothing  might 
distract  them.  He  who  wants  to  make  a 
reservoir  has  to  dig  into  the  earth,  that  the 
water  may  gather  in  it  and   there  remain. 

The  light-minded  never  knows  what  he 
ought  to  do.  He  is  in  perpetual  need,  but 
the  serious  man  always  finds  wherewith  to 
occupy   Himself. 

When  God  forms  a  soul  to  prayer.  He 
gives  her  the  power  to  sound  her  own  heart 
and  to  dwell  within  herself.  Later  on,  he 
leads  her  to  comprehend  the  designs  of  His 
providence  and  to  search  into  His  ways: 
"  Maria  conservahat  omnia  verba  haec  in  corde 
suo — Mary  kept  all  these  words  in  her  heart.  " 

Have,  then,  earnestness  of  character  with 
regard  to  faith,  conscience,  and  the  religious 


THE     EARNESTNESS     OF     LIFE  435 

life.  This  is  a  grace  that  ought  to  be 
solicited  of  God.  Without  it,  one  will  never 
accomplish    anything 

Levity  is  the  first  cause,  although  an 
indirect  one,  of  all  sins,  of  all  defects,  and 
above  all  of  the  want  of  the  spirit  of  prayer 
Defective  Adorations,  forgetfulness  of  the 
divine  Presence,  contemptible  familiarity, 
unceremoniousness  with  Our  Lord, — all  come 
from    it. 

You  have,  perhaps,  a  well-disposed  heart, 
but  a  light  mind  has  counteracted  that  good 
disposition.  Grace  presented  itself,  but  you 
were  not  at  home. 

Levity  plunges  us  into  constant  embar- 
rassment. The"  demon  watches  to  cast  those 
that  have  this  defect,  though  otherwise  zealous 
and  good-hearted,  into  a  thousand  little 
works,  good  without  doubt,  but  unconnected, 
in  order  that  they  may  no  longer  behold 
themselves;  for  he  is  master  of  the  situation 
when  he  can  cast  the  soul  into  the  net  of 
distraction,  embarrassment,  and  inquietude 
by  the  multiplicity  of  her  occupations- 
Experience     shows     that     business     affairs 


436  THE     EARNESTNESS     OF     LIFE 

hinder  the  calm  necessary  to  the  life  of 
Adoration.  Going  abroad  and  absence,  above 
all,  bring  about  the  loss  of  facility  in  con- 
versing with  Our  Lord.  It  is  for  this  reason 
that  the  Society  refuses  the  preaching  pf 
stations  and  is  very  reserved  in  permitting 
absence,  in  order  that  you  may  preserve 
the  seriousness  of  the  life  of  Adoration,  and 
aJways  be  free  and  ready  -for  the  sersnce 
of  the  Lord.  This  is  a  servitude,  it  is  true, 
but  a  roval   servitude! 


FRUITS  and  RESOLUTIONS 


Of  the  RETREAT. 


^^^  EEP  the  good  things  committed-  to  you. 
gg^l  Labor  as  a  good  soldier  of  Christ.  Dive 
into  these  things,  and  put  them  in  practice.  " 
Such  among  other  things  were  the  counsels 
that  Saint  Paul  gaye  to  Timothy,  his  disciple, 
after   making   him   Bishop    of  Ephesus. 

I.  "  Depositum  cusiodi. — Guard  the  good 
things    of    truth.  " 

Our  Lord  has  given  you  His  truth.  He 
has  told  you  what  was  an  obstacle  to  His 
life  and  His  glory  in  you.  He  has  given 
you  good  sentiments  and  a  good  will.  You 
have  begun' a  true  religious  life.  Guard  well 
the  treasure  of  your  Retreat,  by  watching 
against    the    temptations    of    the    evil    one. 

He  does  not  attack  openly,  for  his  hideous- 
ness  would  make  you  flee.  But  he  fascinates 
us,  bewilders  us,  and  seizes  us  from  behind. 
"  Circuit  qiKzrens  qiiem  devoret — He  goes 
about  seeking  whom  he  may  devour.  " 

Yo'i    now   know   what    temptations    triumph 


438  FRUITS    OF    THE    RETREAT 

over  you  and  trouble  you.  You  know  how 
the  world  dissipates  you  and  engages  yonr 
attention.  Take  good  care  not  to  allow  it 
to  reach  you.  Guard  even  against  the  saints 
of   the   world  f 

You  are  a  royal  priesthood,  a  holy  people. 
Do  not  profane  your  dignity  by  exposing: 
it.    Do    not    mix    in    outside    affairs. 

If  obedience  places  yoij  in  relations  with 
the  world,  be  angels,  that  is,  messengers  who 
come  and  go,  delivering  your  message  and 
immediately  returning.  Do  not  be  too  ac- 
cessible.    So   much    for    i^e   world. 

Watch,  also,  over  the  traitor  who  is  in. 
you,  who  is  yourself.  Xeep  him  down  by 
force,  for  he  is  your  unrelenting  enemy. 
We  understand  the  hatred  of  the  saints  for 
their  body,  which  they  combated  as  their 
greatest    enemy. 

Let  us  distrust  ourselves.  We  must  hate  and 
struggle  against  ourselves  without  relaxation. 
As  soon  as  we  have  said,  "  It  is  enough,  " 
we    are    lost. 

Alas!  even  after  the  very  best  resolutions, 
we    are    so    weak    and    so   tepid!    We    come 


FRUITS    OF    THE    RETREAT  439 

from  confession,  we  meet  another  occasion 
at  the  door,  and  we  fall  again.  We  have 
in  us  a  powder-mill  that  explodes .  at  every 
contact    with   fire,    were   it    only   a   spark. 

"/?^  omnibus  vigilia.  »  Watch  in  all  things 
and  everywhere.  Watch  over  your  senses, 
above  all,  over  your  eyes.  We  shall  not 
be  masters  of  ourselves  as  long  as  we  can 
not  restrain  our  eyes. 

If  you  wish  to  be  in  peace,  never  have  in 
your  mind  the  picture  of  any  creature,  and 
remember   that   the   eyes   are   painters. 

Love  every  one  in  general,  commend 
every  one  to  God,  and  know  no  one  in  partic- 
ular, unless  charity  or  obedience  makes  it 
a  special  duty  for  you.  Leave  the  obliga- 
tion of  conversing  with  the  world  to  your 
Superiors.  It  is  on  them  such  responsibility 
•is  incumbent. 

Oh,  how  happy  you  are  to  be  biurdened 
with  no  one!  You  are  independents.  AD 
your  heart,  all  your  life  may  be  for 
Our  Lord!  He  must  imprint  Himself  on 
it  all  entire,  not  broken,  not  shattered 
as    in    troubled    water    or    a   concave    niiror. 


440  FRUITS    OF    THE    RETREAT 

You  must  be  photographs  of  Our  Lord.  The 
lens  is  your  own  soul,  the  light  is  His 
love,    the    model    is    Jesus  Christ. 

Ah,  be  determined  with  creatures!  Know 
how  to  cut  short.  Be  independents.  Be 
even  haughty  when  there  is  question  of  guard- 
ing yourselves.  Do  not  allow  yourselves  to 
be    bound    in    spider-webs. 

How  often  I  have  regretted  being  a 
shepherd  of  souls  I  One  is  ever,  as  it  were, 
on  a  rough  sea.  People  come  to  abuse  one, 
to  deceive  one.  One  must  listen  to  every- 
body and,  in  spite  of  one's  self,  be  sprinkled 
with   dust. 

And  you  who  are  not  obliged  by  your 
charge  to  intercourse  with  the  world,  will 
you  go  to  seek  it  although  God  does  not 
require  it  of  you?  Ah,  shelter  yourselves 
in  the  sacred  sanctuary  of  Jesus  Christ,,  your. 
King,    for    whom    alone    you    are    here! 

II.  "  Lahora  ut  bonus  miles  Christi. — Labor 
like  good  soldiers  of  Jesus  Christ.  " 

To  take  care,  is  well.  That  is  enough 
in  the  beginning.  The  virtues  that  we  trans- 
plant  are    tender    shoots,    which   must   needs 


FRUITS    OF    THE    RETREAT  441 

be  protected  against  the  intense  cold  or  the 
too   scorching   heat,    in    order    to   take    root. 

Later  on,  they  must  be  cultivated.  This 
wori:  consists  in  purifying  one's  self  inces- 
santly, acquiring  the  spirit  and  the  habit 
of  prayer,  and  reforming  one's  rnanners  by 
conforming  one's  life  to  that  of  Our  Lord. 
Here  generosity,  cooperation,  and  faithful 
correspondence   to    grace,    are    necessary. 

We  must  begin  with  one  virtue,  the  one 
that  ought  to  be  in  us  the  dominant  virtue, 
the  characteristic  virtue,  while  at  the  same 
time  we  acquire  the  perfection  of  our  Rule, 
for  as  religious  we  are  obliged  to  this  per- 
fection. 

You  must  first  acquire  the  exterior  perfec- 
tion of  your  Rule,  namely,  modesty,  silence, 
good  use  of  your  time,  obedience,  and  fidelity 
to  the  exercises  of  piety  You  should  know 
how  to  be  ready  for  everything  required 
of  you,  and  to  be  idle  if  you  are  ordered 
to   rest 

For  the  interior,  see  of  what  you  have 
need.  Attend  first  to  your  conscience.  If  it 
torments  you,  ah!  give  it  your  first  attention. 

The  Divine  Euciiarist-  ao 


442  FRUITS     OF    THE    RETREAT 

leave  everything  to  set  it  in  ord^r  first  of 
all.. 

If  it  is  your  lieart  which  allows  itself  lo 
be  caught  by  creatures  or  to  sleep  thit)ugh 
sloth,  cast  it  into  the  love  of  God,  into 
continual  sacrifices.  In  this  way  you  will 
fill  it  with  divine  love,  and  there  will  no 
longer  be  room  for  the  creature. 

If  it  is  the  mind  that  is  light,  nail  it  lo 
the  Cross  of  Jesus  Christ.  Choose  some  fixed, 
some  striking  thought.  Hold  on  to  it  for 
several  consecutive  days.  Dwell  on  it  for 
eight  days.  Your  mind  is  a  child.  The  more 
it  amuses  itself,  the  more  it  wants  to  amuse 
itself.  It  must- be  restrained  by  something 
that  strikes  it  powerfully,  or  by  a  touching 
thought  that  moves  you.  Place  it  often  in 
the  presence  of  God.  Have  some  thought 
on  hand  that  rouses  you  and  recalls  His 
presence.  If  you  concentrate  your  mind  on 
one  pointj  you  tvill  do  so  on  others.  It 
then  acquires  an  energy  of  principle  and 
action  no  longer  upon  one  thing,  but  upon 
all    that   presents    itself   to  be   done. 

Take  whatever  thought  suits  you  best,  but 


FRUITS    OF    THE    RETREAT  443 

do  not  rely  too  much  either  on  your  heart 
or  your  mind.  Dwell  not  exclusively  on 
your  conscience,  but  let  the  practical  and 
continued  result  of  the  Retreat  be  to  make 
you  embrace  once  for  all,  both  interiorly 
and  exteriorly,  the  mortification  of  Our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ. 

111.  " //i  his  esto.-  Ah'idc  in  that,  "  and 
thus  revive  the  work,  of  the  Retreat. 

Take,  m  hand  the  affair  of  your  amend- 
ment. Begin  with  the  exterior.  1  have  often 
given  utterance  to  this  principle  that  wc 
must  go  from  the  interior  to  the  exterior. 
Begin  by  reforming  the  interior  before  at- 
tacking exterior  faults.  This  is  true  theoret- 
ically, and  also  for  souls  that  arc  already 
interior.  They  fall  only  through  weakness. 
They  have  already  conquered  their  great 
exterior  defects.  The  combat  now  for  them 
is   above   all    interior. 

But  this  is  not  true  for  beginners.  You 
seek  God  like  poor  souls  that  have  need 
of  pardon.  You  must  first  become  reconciled 
to  Him,  by  destroying  those  obstacles  that 
come  from  without  and  acquiring  the  power 


^44  FRUITS     OF    THE    RETREAT 

to  mortify  self  in  all  that  is  material,  all 
that  airests  your  progress  and  turns  you  to 
evil.  You  are  only  children  in  prayer.  It 
you  liave  not  books  at  that  time,  you  du 
nut  know  how  to  occupy  yourselves.  You 
arc  not  yet  able  to  walk  under  the  interior 
inspiration   of   Our   Lord. 

What  shall  I  say  to  these  latter?  Shall 
you  occupy  yourselves  only  with  labor  and 
interior   combat?    No. 

In  your  state,  there  is  qucbtion  less  uf 
interior  progress  than  of  disengaging  your- 
selves from  the  chains  of  the  senses,  less 
of  advancing  than  of  purifying  yourselves 
and    getting    rid    of    the    roots    of    sin. 

You  love  God,  doubtless,  but  like  children. 
You  have  not  been  rooted  on  Calvary.  If 
you  launch  out  into  interior  ways  without 
the  curb  of  mortification  and  exterior  reforma- 
tion, you  will  become  fanatics  and  visionaries. 

To  wish  to  apply  the  principles  of  the 
interior  life  of  union  and  love  to  souls  that 
are  yet  full  of  their  senses,  is  to  build  upon 
sand,    and    without    foundation. 

Gods   i^race    works    in   the   intciior,   but    it 


FRUITS    OF    THE    RETREAT  445 

is  for  US  to  join  to  it"  exterior  labor  It 
works  from  within  to  without.  In  our  coope- 
ration wit]\  it,  we  must  go  from  without 
to   within 

The  two  actions  must  be  joined  and  never 
separated,  filling:  our  soul  with  love  by 
prayer,  and  purifying  ourselves  exteriorly  by 
mortification. 

It  is  easy  to  say,  "  I  love  God, "  but  if 
this  word  is  not  followed  by  mortification,. 
It  is  vain  and  unfounded.  Self-love  has^ 
quickly  taken  the  place  of  the  love  of  God 

Love  alone  makes  saints.  There  is  noth- 
ing truer  than  this  principle,  but  it  must 
be  applied  with  discernment.  Now,  the  love 
of   Jesus    Christ   for   us   is    His    Cross. 

Personal  mortification  of  justice  and  peni- 
tence must  be  the  foundation  and  the  exer 
cise  of  love;  and  if  one  has  not  sinned, 
it  must  be  mortification  through  love  inspired 
by    the    example    of    Our    Lord's    sufferings 

Put  your  confidence  in  God,  and  wage 
the  great  struggle  of   mortification. 

Think  not  on  the  years  and  years  you 
must    live    in    this    struggle.    You    have    not 


446  FRUITS     OF    THE    RETREAT 

at  present  the  grace  of  the  future,  but  for 
every  moment  its  own  sufficient  grace  will 
be    given. 

To-day  you  have  only  to  accept  the  combat 
and  take  a  generous  resolution.  Be  satisfied 
with  that,  and  count  upon  grace  for  the 
future. 

Besides  that,  look  for  success  from  God 
alope,  count  on  Him  alone.  Have  confidence 
in  His  grace  for  the  victory.  Do  not  trust 
too  much  to  the  means,  however  good  they 
may  be,  nor  upon  the  success  of  your 
prayers,  nor  upon  the  victories  you  may 
have  gained  over  your  faults,  for  he  who 
analyzes   his   success   loses   it. 

Expect  some  defeats,  but  do  not  let  them 
discourage  you.  When  you  shall  have  fallen, 
acknowledge  your  fault  and  your  weakness, 
and  ask  God  to  hold  out  to  you  a  helping 
hand. 

The  humility  which  rises  again  is  a  per- 
fect victory,  and  it  becomes  more  vigilant. 
God  sometimes  sanctifies  souls  only  by  their 
falls  and  wretchedness.  We  are  already  so 
borne    along   by    pride   that,   if   God   did   not 


FRUITS    OF    THE    RETREAT  447 

humble  us  at  times,  we  should  become  more 
proud,  more  wicked  than  Satan,  because  we 
are    grosser    than    he,    and    equally   proud. 

Do  you  grieve  over  the  fact  that  God 
leads  you  by  the  way  of  humiliation?  But 
that's  a  favor!  Every  one  will  pity  you  and 
help  you.  If  you  appeared  richer  than 
others,  every  one  would  oppose  you.  No, 
put  on  the  habit  of  your  Master  If  He 
showed  Himself  m  His  glory,  every  one 
would  come  to  Him;  but  while  He  is  poor 
and  humiliated,  the  world  passes  Him  by. 
Love  to  be  unknown  and  humiliated  with 
Him. 

I  have  finished.  I  leave  to  Our  Lord 
to  give  you  Himself,  in  your  Adorations, 
the  Eucharistic  Retreat,  and  to  teach  you 
His  life  of  love,  prayer,  and  sacrifice  in  the 
Blessed  Sacrament.  I  want  to  be  only  a 
John  Baptist  crying.  "Do  penance!"  I  have 
shown  you  the  way,  I  have  led  you  up 
to  the  portal  of  sanctity,  and  there  I  pause. 

Behold  your  Saviour,  your  King,  yonr 
Master!  Love  Him,  glorify  Him,  serve  Him' 
This  is  my  only  desire! 


'^-^^^^i^^s&^^^y^ 


RETREAT 


PREACHED  TO  THE  SERVANTS  OF  THE 


Most  Blessed  Sacrament. 


^ 


FOREWORD. 


1^ 


This  Retreat  was  preached  during  the  month  of 
November,  i866j  to  the  Servants  of  the  Most  Blessed 
Sacrament. 

Here  again,  we  behold  the  Father  in  the  midst  of 
his  children.  The  notes  piously  taken  while  he 
spoke,  breathe  the  perfume  of  paternal  intimacy  and 
familiarity,  which  his  title  and  the  love  borne  him  as 
such  authorized. 

Only  in  the  two  meditations  on  the  gift  of  self,  in 
which  the  Venerable  Father  touches  on  the  most 
elevated  doctrines  of  theology  concerning  the  Word 
Incarnate,  are  there  some  omissions.  We  can  under- 
stand that  a  woman  little  familiar  with  such  subjects 
could  not  follow  the  Father,  word  for  word,  in  the 
development  of  this  beautiful  doctrine.  But  some 
words  here  and  there  were  thrown  in  as  landmarks, 
in  order  that  we  might  be  able  some  day  to  resume 
the  course  of  the  conference,  and  render  it  complete. 
This  is  what  we  have  endeavored  to  do,  by  drawing 
our  inspiration  especially  from  a  personal  Retreat  of 
two  months,  which  the  Venerable  Father  ended  with 
the  gift  of  self,  in  which  this  teaching  is  laid  down  in 
detail 

We  hope  this  Retreat  will  put  the  finishing-stroke 
to  a  clear  understanding  of  the  spirit  of  sanctity 
through  the  Eucharist.  Many  secrets  of  divine  love 
are  here  brought  to  light,  and  the  heart  sees  opening 


452  FOREWORD 


up  to  it  a  field  of  immense  love.  It  is  to  pure  lovev 
to  the  love  of  God  loved  for  Him??elf,  that  the  Father 
incessantly  exhorts.  Although  he  does  not  reject 
interested  love  so  necessary  to  our  weakness,  it  seems 
that  there  was  for  his  soul  no  satisfying  love  but  thai 
which  loves  in  order  to  love,  that  sees  in  the  virtues 
and  in  sacrifice  only  love,  that  desires  for  its  reward 
only  a  greater  love,  and  that  aims  at  heaven  only 
because  there  we.  love  better  and  eternally. 

The  practice  and  guarantee  of  this  love,  he  places 
in  fidelity  to  duty,  in  tender  considerateness  never  to 
offend  even  in  the  least  point  ;  in  sacrificing  to  the 
love  of  God  nature,  not  only  in  its  evil  instincts  anrl 
its  roots  of  sin,  but  in  itself,  in  its  natural  personality, 
in  the  principle  which  constitutes  it  the  child  of  the 
earthly  Adam. 

The  gift  of  one  's  own  personality  is,  in  eftect,  the 
essential  means  of  binding  one 's  self  to  live  of  love, 
since  it  consists  in  remitting  one 's  self  entirely  into 
the  hands  of  Jesus  Christ,  taking  Him  for  one  's  only 
motive  and»end,  dedicating  and  devoting  one's  self 
to  His  service  as  a  slave  without  name  or  ownership. 
This  gift  is  meant  to  establish,  as  far  as  in  us  lies, 
Jesus  as  our  own  person,  and  to  bind  us  to  live  with 
His  grace,  only  as  members,  a  nature  directed  by  Him. 

This  doctrine  is  not  new.  In  the  seventeenth  cen- 
tury, Cardinal  de  BeruUe  reduced  it  to  the  formula  of 
a  vow,  which  was  approved  by  over  ten  Bishops  and 
Doctors. 


FOREWORD  453 


By  this  vow,  one  simply  engages  himself  never  to 
retract  the  donation  he  has  made  of  himself,  his  whole 
self,  soul,  body,  faculties,  actions,  merits,  and  sufifer- 
ings,  his  whole  being  to  Jesus  Christ,  to  all  His 
designs  over  him,  and  to  all  His  commands.  In  the 
second  place,  he  resolves  to  live  as  far  as  possible 
according  to  the  spirit  of  this  vow,  always  accepting 
the  views  and  ways  of  grace  preferably  to  natural 
views  and  human  means,  by  abandoning  himself  in 
everything  and  for  everything  to  the  conduct  of  Prov- 
idence, by  laboring  always  for  God,  for  Jesus  Christ, 
chosen  as  the  unique  Master  and  Proprietor  of  his 
being,  of  all  his  properties,  qualities,  actions,  and 
possessions. 

There  is  no  additional  duly,  no  obligation  under 
pain  of  sin,  for  this  beautiful  vow  consists  only  in  an 
obligation  of  love,  an  elevation  of  intention,  and  that 
is  all.  Does  not  this  realize  the  life  of  Jesus  in  us? 
And  followed  out  in  practice  with  perseverance  and 
good- will,  does  it  not  make  saints,  that  is,  other  Jesus 
Christs  ? 

After  the  Retreat,  of  which  we  have  spoken  above, 
the  Venerable  Father  made  this  vow  of  the  gift  of 
self  to  Jesus  Christ,  March  21,  1865.  He  summed  it 
up  in  these  two  words  :  '*  Nothing  by  myself, 
nothing  for  myself.  All  by  Jesus  Christ,  all  for  Jesus 
Christ  in  me  !  " 

Then,  comprehending  how  powerful  is  this  means 
of  sanctification,  since  it  places  us  in  the  perfect  grace 


454  FOREWORD 


of  Christianity,  by  giving  us  entirely  to  Jesus  Christ, 
and  by  renewing  and  perfecting  by  a  free  and  deliber- 
ate vow  the  consecration  of  our  whole  being  which 
was  made  to  Him  in  Baptism,  he  exclaimed  :  *'  Ah  ! 
had  I  understood  this  means  sooner  !  What  lime 
gained,  how  many  mora  merits  for  Jesus  Christ  !  " 
Who  does  not  understand,  in  effect,  that  this  vow  is 
but  an  explicit  renovation,  carried  in  the  light  of  faith 
even  to  its  last  consequences,  of  the  vows  of  Baptism? 
We  have,  then,  renounced  the  devil  and  his  works, 
that  is,  all  that  is  of  the  demon  in  man,  and  all  that  is 
simply  of  Adam  in  us,  in  order  to  belong  to  Jes.us 
Christ.  But  is  it  only  by  the  acts  of  the  Christian 
life,  by  the  fultilmcnt  of  the  Law,  that  we  belong  to 
Jesus  Christ  ?  Is  it  not  rather,  first  and  above  all,  by 
the  very  substance  of  life,  by  a  radical  adjunct,  volun- 
tary and  absolute,  embracing  the  being,  as  well  as  its 
acts? 

Sanctifying  grace,  which  is  the  life  of  Jesus  in  us, 
is  a  state,  a  stable  thing,  fixed,  inherent  in  the  very 
substance  itself  of  our  regenerated  being.  W^e  should, 
then,  give  ourselves  to  it  in  a  similar  manner  by  our 
state,  by  a  constant  profession  of  living  only  of  it,  in 
it,  and  by  it.  The  gift  of  self  is  nothing  else  than 
this  profession. 

WTiether  we  think  it  or  not,  it  is  also  at  the  founda- 
tion of  the  religious  vows.  However  little  we  may 
desire  to  practise  them  perfectly,  we  see  it  springing 
up  ar,  the  natural   fruit   of  ihio  conbeCKition   which. 


FOREWORD  455 


certainly,  is  sufficient  to  deliver  the  whole  being  over 
to  Jesus  Christ.  And  what  does  the  religious  conse- 
cration mean  except  the  reproducing  of  the  life  of 
Jesus  Himself,  the  first  and  perfect  Religious  of  God, 
who  became  such  only  because  He  had  sacrificed  to 
the  Word  His  human  personality  and  who,  living 
thus  separated  from  Himself,  was  by  His  state  perpet 
ually  offered  and  immolated  to  the  Father  by  the 
Word. 

When  we  read  attentively  the  meditations  of  this 
Retreat  and  those  of  the  preceding,  we  shall  readily 
comprehend  the  spirit  and  the  practice  of  the  vow  of 
impersonality  as  the  Venerable  Father  understood 
it.  To  them  who.desire  more  extended  explanation, 
we  recommend  a  little  book  of  Pcre  Grou  entitled  : 
Du  don  de  soi-meme  a  Dieu,  which  is  a  continuation 
of  a  Retraite  sur  V amour  de  Dieu  (')  ;  and  again,  the 
Vie  du  Pere  Charles  de  Condren^  by  the  Abbe  Pin  (*), 
in  which  may  be  seen  the  perfect  practice  of  the  vow; 
lastly,  in  the  Works  of  the  Cardinal  de  Berulle,  Dis- 
couts  et  Elevations  stir  Vlticarnation  (3). 


1.  Leco_ffrey  Paris. 

2.  Chaiiffardt  Marseilles. 

3.  Migfie^  Paris. 


^«;&s&»fe*a&!fea£3^*a*yi«&«fe2^*ifei&aa&^a&^*:£< 


CONVERSION 


is  ALWAYS  NECESSARY.       ^ 


RETRLAT  is  the  greatCbt  of  all  graces, 
because  it  comprehends  all  the  graces 
of  conversion  and  renewal  in  the  devout 
life.  When  God  wills  to  convert  a  soul. 
He  puts  her  into  a  Retreat.  We  all  need 
conversion,  because  we  have  defects,  and 
because  we  carry  in  us  the  old  man.  It 
is  true  that,  in  the  devout  life  faults  are 
less  apparent,  less  gross;  but  as  by  them 
we  sin  against  Our  Lord's  love  of  preference 
for  us.  His  Heart  is  more  sensitive  to  them. 
Retreat  is  a  real  conversion  of  the  old 
man  into  the  new,  or  of  an  imperfect  virtue 
into  a  perfect  virtue;  and,  believe  me,  it 
costs  more  to  be  converted  from  an  imperfect 
state  than  to  rise  out  of  sin.  The  evil  is 
less  apparent,  less  avowed,  and  pride  often 
takes  it  for  good.  How  difficult  it  is  to 
persuade  the  semi-perfect  that  they  arc  below 
what  Our  Lord  wishes,  and  to  make  thcni 
acknowledge   their   defects! 


CONVERSION  ALWAYS  NECESSARY        457 

Oh!  I  do  not  like  to  hear*  "  They  are 
religious,  then  they  are  saints,  angels!"  All 
that  is  only  dust  in  the  eyes.  One  is  a 
saint  only  on  entering  heaven.  Examine'your- 
selves  in  the  light  of  Our  Lord's  love.  Look 
at  the  duties  of  your  vocation,  and  tell  me 
whether  you  are  saints  1 

I  do  not  say  that  you  have  on  your  con- 
science those  sins  that  roll  us  in  the  mud.- 
But  there  are  sins  of  the  sanctuary,  sins  of 
the  service  of  God.  They  are  so  much 
the  more  painful  to  Our  Lord  as  He  loves 
us  more,  as  He  has  granted  us  more  graces 
Oh!  how  pained,  how  saddened  is  Our  Lord 
on  seeing  us  offending  Him  even  at  His 
feet,  under  His  gaze;  and  that,  in  the  midst 
of  His  choice  graces,  we  live  not  of  Him 
and  for  Him,  but  of  the  old  man  and  for 
the  old  man!  Is  there  no  pride  in  our  life, 
in  our  thoughts,  in  our  actions  ?— that  pride 
which  delights  in  self,  which  secretly  judges 
others,  which  puts  itself  above  them,  esteem- 
ing only  its  own  excellence.?  Here,  'indeed, 
is  need  of  conversion,  the  conversion  from 
spiritual    pride.     This    pride    is    the    worst    of 


458        CONVERSION  ALWAYS  NECESSARY 

all,  since  one  is  then  proud  of  the  grace  that 
he   receives,    of    the   good   that   he   does. 

Have  we  no  self-love,  that  egotism  virhich 
makes  us  love  God,  not  for  Himself,  but  for 
one's  self  ? —  that  personal  pride  which  makes 
self,  and  not  the  good  God,  the  end  of  our 
life  and  our  love?  One  never  calls  one's 
srelf  to  account  for  this,  and  yet  it  exists. 
It  is  always   I,  ego. 

Every  one  is  attacked  by  this  malady,  but 
we  more  easily  in  Community  than  the 
fievout  in  the  world,  where  the  trials  of  every 
day,  the  crosses  of  all  kinds,  leave  no  leisure 
for  so  much  thought  of  self.  More  occupied 
with  resisting  and  combating,  they  more  easily 
forget  the  spiritual  and  personal  I.  But  in 
Community,  where  we  live  under  the  beautiful 
sun  of  graces,  we  have  the  love  of  self  in 
our  heart,  we  constantly  contemplate  self,  mak- 
ing it  the   end  of  our  thoughts  and  virtues. 

Now,  for  you,  adoratrices,  your  Rule  or- 
ders you  to  love  God  by  the  sacrifice  of 
your  own  personality,  which  ever  tends  toward 
becoming  a  centre,  an  end,  something  outside 
of    God. 


CONVERSION  ALWAYS   NECESSARY        459 

Again,  it  is  this  love  of  one's  personality 
that  is  the  furnace  of  idleness,  of  sensuality, 
which  loves  repose  and  rejects  mortification, 
for.  the  old  man  does  not  love  mortification. 
He  wants  his  rest,  his  tranquility.  He  is 
by  nature  slothful. 

Still  more,  your  dominant  virtue  is  the 
humiHty  of  love.  That  is  the  royal  virtue, 
which  puts  in  practice  the  gift  and  the  sac- 
rifice of  personality.  It  is  from  it  that  all 
your  other  virtues  ought  to  draw  their 
strength.  If  you  have  it  not.  although  pos- 
sessing the  others,  you  are  laying  up  in 
a  perforated    sack. 

It  is  the  characteristic  virtue  of  the  Eu- 
charist. It  is  the  love  of  the  annihilation 
of  Our  Lord  for  man.  Without  it,  you  have 
not  your   characteristic   virtue. 

You  call  yourselves  the  Servants  of  the 
Blessed  Sacrament.  What,  then,  is  the  virtue 
of  a  servant,  if  not  humility?  The  servant  has 
no  longef  a  name,  a  house,  a  family.  He 
lives  no  longer  for  himself.  His  condition  is 
to  serve,  his  aim  is  the  interest  of  his  master, 
his    name    is    that    of    him    whom   he    serves. 


460        CONVERSION  ALWAYS  NECESSARY 

In  humility,  then,  lies  all  for  you.  This 
Retreat  must  perfect  you  in  this  virtue,  and 
you  ought  to  labor  all  your  life  to  acquire 
it.  You  will  never  reach  the  point  of  pos- 
sessing it  in  all  its  entirety.  That  is  Our 
Lord's  perfection.  But  I  say  that  an  adora- 
trice  who  grows  in  the  humility  of  love, 
Vv'ill  be  the  holiest  of  all. 

Examine,  then,  attentively  whether  ui  iiul 
you  are  striving  to  attain  it,  how  you  stand 
in  this  so  necessary  virtue.  Examine  whether 
you  love  God  with  a  perfect  love;  whether, 
on-  the  contrary,  you  do  not  love  the  virtues 
for  yourselves, — good  works,  graces,  the 
neighbor  for  self,  and  not  for  God.  See 
whether  you  are  not  your  own  end,  your  own 
centre.    The  love  of  annihilation  is  necessary. 

In  this  Retreat,  begin  by  the  grace  of  con- 
version. Begin  by  that.  Then  apply  yourself 
to  your  grace  of  vocation  and,  lastly,  to 
your  grace -of  adoration.  These  are  the  three 
degrees  of  grace  that  God  vouch^ifcs  you. 
and  they  exact  of  you  corresponding  duties. 

Examine  them  in  the  light  of  love  that 
Our   Lord    offers    you    during    these   days    of 


CONVERSION  ALWAYS  NECESSARY  461 

grace.    By    it.   He    wishes    to   testify   to  you 

His  friendship,   to  make  you  repose  at  His 

feet,  to  repair  your  strength,  and  renew  you 

in    fervor".    Act    in    such    a    way     that  ihis 
Retreat  may  be  the  best  of  all. 


^  2&^^  j^,^^  •^.^^S&j^  ^  ^d&  ^^^2^^^^ 


The  ETERNAL  LOVE  of  GOD. 


OD  has  loved  us  from  all  eternity.  This 
is  a  truth  upon  which  we  ought  to 
meditate  all  our  life.  We  have  always  existed 
in  the  love  of  the  good  God,  always  been 
present  to  the  thought  of  the  Holy  Trinity. 
The  Father  thought  of  His  creature,  the  Son 
of  those  that  He  was  to  redeem,  the  Holy 
Spirit    of    those     that    He    was    to    sanctify. 

God  has  always  loved  me!  Grand  thought, 
which  shows  our  greatness  and  the  nobility 
of  our  origin.  We  were  still  in  nothingness, 
although  in  God  we  had  a  life  preexistent 
to  our  creation.  He  saw  us,  He  loved  us 
with  a  love  of  benevolence,  as  a  mother 
already  loves  the  child  she  bears  in  her 
womb. 

He  pressed  us  to  His  Heart,  saying:  "Be- 
hold this  'little  creature  who  will  be  born 
at  such  a  -time,  under  such  circumstances, 
who  will  have  such  and  such  a  grace,  and 
who  will  love  Me!"  This  truth  ought  to 
rouse  gratitude  in  us.  God  loved  us  first. 
Then  our  love  belongs  to  Him,  though  it  will 


THE  ETERNAL  LOVE  OF  GOD     463 

never  return  what  it  owes  to  infinite  love. 
To  the  creature  who  would  demand  our  heart,, 
we  should  respond  *\God  has  loved  me 
first.    It   is   to   Him   I    owe  it. " 

The  good  God  loves  us  with  a.  love  of 
benevolence.  He  does  not  love  us  from 
interested  motives,  for  He  has  no  need  of 
us.  He  has  loved  us,  then,  only  to  testify 
for  us  love,  a  love  absolutely  gratuitous. 
He  loves  us  to  render  us  happy.  He  gives 
me  everything  without  thought  of  self-interest, 
for  I  can  do  nothing  to  increase  His  glory 
and    happiness. 

Still  more,  He  has  created  us  under  the 
best  conditions  of  grace,  in  a  Catholic  country, 
of  Christian  parents,  who  have  given  us  a 
pious  education  —  but  how  number  up  all 
the  graces  with  which  He  has  surrounded 
us  in  order  to  lead  us  where  we  are! 

He  has  chosen  you  to  serve  Him  in  His 
Sacrament  of  Love,  and  to  belong  to  Him 
alone.  Do  you  deserve  it?  It  is  a  grace 
of  preference.  But  by  it.  He  reveals  to  you 
the  whole  plan  of  His  eternal  love,  the  design 
of  His  providence  is  manifested  to  you.    He 


464     THE  ETERNAL  LOVE  OF  GOD 

predestined  you,  He  created  you  and  con- 
served you  in  His  love  only  that  one  day 
you  might  know  Him,  love  Him,  and  serve 
Him  by  the  gift  of  your  life,  only  that  you 
might  give  yourself  to  Him  wiio  has  given 
you  all  things. 

God  desires  to  be  the  centre  and  the  end 
of  man's  love.  He  has  subjected  to  him 
everything  in  the  universe,  and  He  wants 
his  love  for  Himself,  for  Himself  alone.  He 
expressly  reserves  it  for  Himself.  He  wishes 
to  be  his  end,  in  order  to  be  the  first  to 
have  all  his  love,  and 'here  there  are  no  limits. 
He  wishes  that  we  love  Him  with  a  filial, 
absolute,  sovereign  love.  This  is  the  precept 
that  He  has  given  to  all  men. 

But  there  is  a  love  that  God  has  not 
exacted  of  all  and  that  He  leaves  us  free 
to  offer  Him,  namely,  the  virginal  love 
which  is  given  to  Him  without  being  shared 
by  any  creature.  We  were  free  either  to 
offer  Him  a  virginal  heart,  or  to  ally  with 
Kim  a  creature  in  our  love,  by  a  union  which 
He  Himself  has  consecrated  But  we  have 
not  desired   this  portion,  however  honorable 


THE   ETERNAL  LOVE  OF  GOD  465 

it  might  have  been.  We  have  preferred  God 
to  all  else,  because  He  revealed  Himself 
to  us  with  more  loveliness,  because  He  show- 
ed Himself  to  our  soul  with  more  love  than 
to  many  others.  Ah!  here  it  is  that  we 
see  His  benevolence,  His  preventing  love 
of  preference!  On  our  side,  we  owe  Him 
a   love   unique,    whole,    and   entire. 

He  has  said  to  us  •  "  As  creature,  you 
owe  Me  love  as  to  your  last  end.  But  if 
you  wish  to  love  Me  still  more,  with  a 
pure,  virginal  love,  I  will  introduce  you  into 
the  privacy  of  My  Heart.  "  And  your  ravish 
ed  soul  exclaimed  "  My  God,  I  Avill  love 
only  Thee  I  " 

How  you  ought  to  thank  the  good-  God 
for  having  prepared  and  reserved  this  choice 
grace  for  you!  What  happiness!  What 
honor!.  How    you    ought    to    love    Him! 

And,  now,  how  respond  to  the  love  of  a 
God  who  wishes  to  be  loved  in  a  special 
manner  by  you,  who  wishes  to  be  the  only 
end  of  your  life,  of  your  mind,  and  of 
your  heart?  Ah!  let  us  ask  His  pardon 
for  having  spent  so  much  of  our  life  with 


466     THE  ETERNAL  LOVE  OF  GOD 

out  loving  Him.  Let  us  thank  Him,  let  us 
live  on  acts  of  thanksgiving,  and  thus  return 
to  Him  the  fruits  of  the  grace  of  which 
we  have  deprived  Him  by  loving  Him  too 
little   up   to  this   day. 

We  generally  say  that  time  lost  never  re- 
turns. This  is  true  if  we  lov^e  God  only  to  ful- 
fil the  commandment;  l)ut  in  embracing  the 
counsels.  l)y  doing  more  than  we  are  rigorous- 
ly obliged  to  do,  we  regain  lost  time.  How 
beautiful  it  is  to  see  a  soul  who  wishes 
to  repair  for  lost  love  and  who  says :  "  I 
do  not  want  to  be  satisfied  with  the  Com- 
mandment to  love.  Nothing  will  be  too  much 
for  the  love  of  my  God.  "  In  one  day,  such 
a  soul  does  more  than  another  in  a  lifetime. 
Thus  it  was  tha.  Saint  Magdalen  with  one 
act  of  love  redeemed  her  whole  past.  "Many 
sins  are  forgiven  her,  because  she  hath  loved 
much!  " 


CONFERENCE 


ON    DIRECTION 


IRECTION  should  apply  not  to  our  sins, 
but  to  our  defects.  We  should  examine 
and  expose  in  it  our  defects  of  body,  mind, 
heart,  and  will,  also  our  shortcomings  in 
the    service    of    Our    Lord. 

The  defects  of  the  body  are  those  exterior 
faults  which  proceed  from  temperament  and 
from  individual  character.  Temperament  it- 
self is  not  a  defect,  but  only  its  excesses, 
its  sallies  against  sound  reason.  You  are 
lively.  Is  that  a  fault?  No  But  in  what 
do  you  exceed  through  vivacity?  Here  is  the 
object  of  direction.    The  defect  is  the  excess. 

Remember  that  the  exterior  must  be  correct- 
ed first.  Look  at  your  soul,  then,  in  your 
exterior,  in  order  to  see  what  there  is  to  be 
made    over. 

After  that,  you  must  examine  whether  there 
are  any  defects  of  heart,  that  is,  whether 
there  are  any  disorderly  affections  or  antip- 
athies.    You   must   see   clearly    whither   your 


468  CONFERENCE  ON  DIRECTION 

heart  is  carried,  whether  it  does  not  love 
too  much,  whether  it  does  not  seek  too 
eagerly  those  that  it  finds  sympathetic.  Tf 
it  does,  it  is  natural,  imperfect.  —  But  1  do 
not  consent  to  it— Then  there  is  no  .sin. 
But  it  is  none  the  less  a  bad  root  on  which 
direction  ought  to  be  exercised.  Direction' 
is   not   confession. 

Direction    is    the   history    of    our   soul. 

Lay  open  temptations  of  sympathy  or  of 
aversion  toward  the  neighbor.  With  self. 
what  temptations  to  discouragement,  dejec- 
tion, sadness?  With  God,  what  temptations 
against  confidence  in  Him  at  prayer  at 
Adoration?    So   much  for  the  heart 

For  the  will,  say  what  costs  you  in  regard 
to  obedience,  tell  your  repugnances,  in  what 
you  have  the  most  trouble  to  obey.  The 
resistance  of  nature  shows  you  on  what  point 
your  will  is  more  feeble,  and  by  what  you 
might   slip   into  formal   sin. 

As  for  the  defects  of  the  mind,  they  are 
more  tenacious  than  the  others.  They  must 
be  followed  up  long  and  attentively  in 
direction,    but   ■without    discouragement. 


CONFERENCE   ON  DIRECTION  469 

While  by  violence  we  may  readily  snatch 
the  body  from  what  if  covets;  while  the 
heart  as  quickly  forgets  that  it  has  loved 
when  we  change  its  object,  the  mind  reasons, 
reflects,  and  cannot  turn  away  from  that 
on  which  it  has  fixed  itself. 

The  mind  leads  the  man,  his  senses,  his 
heart,  and  his  will.  If  it  is  not  ruled  by 
the  Spirit  of  God,  it  is  very  bad..  It  becomes 
Satanic  pride  and  the  principle  of  ruin. 

One's  defects  of  mind,  one's  fixed  and 
personal  ideas  must  be  well  searched  into. 
It  must  be  seen  whether  any  thought  troubles 
you,  habitually  disquiets  you,  above  all  in 
prayer    and    Adoration. 

We  must  be  very  careful  not  to  allow 
ourselves  to  entertain  certain  thoughts,  which 
become  fur  the  mind  a  kind  of  disease. 
When  one  indulges  an  impression  of  pleasure, 
and  still  more  of  pain,  the  mind  finally  loses 
all  tranquility.  It  is  ,no  longer  sufficiently 
at  peace  to  pray,  and  so  the  soul  grows 
quite    sick,    because    the    mind    is   sick. 

Oh!    guard    well    against    trouble    of   mind! 

The  body  is  stubborn;   but  when  we  have 


470  CONFERENCE   ON  DIRECTION 

conquered  it  from  the  beginning,  it  becomes 
our  slave.  When  the  heart  does  not  relish 
God,  It  flies  to  the  creature,  because  it  has 
the  need  of  pouring  itself  out;  but  if  God 
IS  proposed  to  it,  if  He  is  showTi  to  it  in 
all  His  love,  it  returns  and  attaches  itself 
to  Him.  In  the  same  manner,  souls  that 
have  passionately  loved  pleasure,  once  return- 
ed to  God,  abandon  the  world  wnth  the 
same  ardor,  fly  toward  pcrfccUon,  and  become 
saints. 

But  for  the  mind,  it  is  another  thing. 
When  a  fault  has  grown  to  be  a  fault  of 
the  mind,  it  is  very  difficult  to  conquer  it 
and  to  deliver  one's  self  from  it.  It  is 
commonly  said  that  a  proud  man  cannot  be 
corrected.  Why?  Because  pride  is  a  defect 
that  has  its  scat  in  the  mind.  He  is  per- 
suaded that  he  is  always  right,  he  does  not 
admit  thai:  he  is  i)roud,  he  adores  his  own 
opinion,  and  wishes  to  receive  neither  ad- 
monition nor  reprimand. 

Again,  violence  can  effect  nothing  against 
the  troubles  and  defects  of  the  mind;  rather 
does    it    contribute    to    keeping    them    alive. 


CONFERENCE   ON  DIRECTION  471 

Some  people  become  irritated  and  excited. 
They  riesolve  energetically  to  think  no  more 
about  their  trouble,  and  yet  they  return  to  it 
a  hundred  times.  They  say:  "I  will  not 
disquiet  myself  about  that,  "  and  they  force 
themselves  to  turn  away  from  it.  But  all 
is  useless,  their  disquietude  redoubles.  What, 
then,  must  be  done?— Call  patience  to  your 
aid.    Combat    by    patience. 

In  practice,  when  a  person  endures  pain 
of  mind,  let  him  examine  whether  it  comes 
from  some  sin,  or  whether  it  is  only  a 
trial.  If  it  is  from  sin,  it  is  easy  to  get 
rid  of  it.  He  has  but  to  go  to  confession. 
If  it  is  only  a  trial  or  a  temptation,  never 
dwell  on  it  wilfully.  Patience  is  the  only 
means  to  be  employed  in  this  case.  -If  a 
person  allows  his  mind  to  become  disquieted 
under  such  circumstances,  he  will  get  sick, 
and-   that    will    only    increase    the    evil. 

He  must  not  disquiet  himself  as  to  the 
consequences.  It  is  clear  that,  as  soon  as 
one  wishes  not  to  sin,  he  does  not  sin. 
But  then,  one  does  not  feel  this  assurance, 
and   it   is   that    which   makes   him   suffer. 


472  CONFERENCE  ON  DIRECTION- 

By  what  sign,  may  it  be  recognized  th^t 
a  thought  is  a  mental  trial  ?  When  the  tixed 
and  persistent  thought  is  not  simply  in  God 
or  m  duty,  that  is,  when,  instead  of  remaining 
at  home  in  our  own  house,  we  go  abroad 
into  those  of  others. 

We  arc  all  inclined  to  that,  and  subject 
to  this  kind  of  trial.  The  devil  is  always 
seeking  to  seize  upon  our  mind,  for  it  is 
the  gate  of  the  house. 

We  should  be  like  children,  without  preoc- 
cupation, and  masters  of  oiu:  mind  in  tlic 
good  God.  When  you  come  to  Adoration, 
to  Communion,  you  should  be,  as  it  were, 
entirely  fresh,  so  that  nothing  past  should 
burden  or  occupy  your  mind,  in  order  that 
you  •  may  be  ready  to  receive  whatever 
impression  the  good  God  wishes.  Vou  must 
have  peace  of  mind,  and  for  that  end,  you 
must  be  submissive  to  God,  resolved  to  follow 
His  will,  and  to  accomplish  it  as  soon  as 
it  is  made  manifest  to  you;  in  a  word,  it 
is  necessary  for  you  to  be  entirely  given 
up  to  the  divine  will.  Here  is  peace.  Doubt- 
less,   you    will    have    combats,    but    they    will 


CONFERENCE   ON  DIRECTION  473 

not  harm  you,  because  you  will  be  in  the 
peace  of  duty,  in  the  peace  of  grace  and 
of   the   Law. 

In  giving  an  account  of  your  soul,  you 
must  study  God's  way  in  you,  what  direction 
He  gives  you  interiorly.  Explain,  first  of 
all,  what  is  your  grace  of  recollection,  what 
sacrifices  God  demands  of  you,  and  what 
are  your  attractions  in  prayer.  See  what  is 
the  grace  that  unites  you  to  God,  that  makes 
you  practise  His  holy  will.  God  attracts 
sometimes,  by  a  grace  of  force,  sometimes 
by  a  grace  of  sweetness.  His  Spirit  is  very 
active,  and  It  constantly  solicits  the  attentive 
soul.  If  you  do  not  perceive  Its  movement, 
it  is  because  you  are  not  at  home  in  your 
own  soul.  Grace  knocks  in  vain,  and  passes 
on. 

Observing  the  foregoing  points,  you  will 
give  a  good  account  of  your  interior.  Do 
not  fear  to  disclose  your  exterior  defects. 
Timidity  in  this  matter  is  a  sign  of  self 
love. 

But  hearken  to  this:  You  must  reach  the 
point  at  which  you  live  of  the  spiritual  relig- 

The  Divine  Eucharist.  •»! 


474  CONFERENCE  ON  DIRECTION 

ious  life,  of  the  Eucharistic  life,  that  is,  you 
must  live  of  God  Himself,  purely  for  God, 
above  all  creatures.  Habituate  yourself  to 
find  in  God  your  food,  your  nourishment, 
your  strength,  and  your  life.  I  tell  you, 
go  to  Our  Lord,  abide  in  Him.  I  shall 
add  that  the  true  religious  ought  to  possess 
great  obedience,  submission,  and  humihty. 
but  at  the  same  time  just  as  great  liberty 
and    independence. 

The  good  God  has  bestowed  on  me  a 
great  grace,  and  that  is  I  am  not  disquieted 
as  to  whether  I  have  or  have  not  hearts  de\ot- 
ed  to  me.  And  if  any  one  should  come  and 
say  to  me  that  he  thinks  of  me  in  his 
heart,  I  should  say  to  Him:  "You  are,  then, 
very  rich  in  heart?  What!  You  have  only 
one  poor  little  heart,  and  you  do  not  keep 
it  all  entire  for  the  good  God?  That  is 
too  bad!"  Love,  then,  those  that  hold  the 
place  of  God,  and  render  them  filial  obe- 
dience, but  passing  beyond,  go  and  rest  in 
God    Himself. 

I  tell  you  not  to  restrain  your  confidence; 
on    the    contrary,    you    ought    to    open    your 


CONFERENCE  ON  DIRECTION  475 

heart  with  all  confidence.  But  the  heart  itself, 
the  final  affection,  ought  to  be  for  God 
alone. 

A  soul  espoused  to  Our  Lord,  ought  to 
reach  the  point  of  living  of  God,  and  acting 
with  her  gaze  upon  Our  Lord.  He  enters 
into  relations  with  her,  and  He  loves  her. 
His  love  radiates  over  all  that  surrounds 
her.  Let  her,  too,  enter  into  constant  and 
direct  communication  with  Him. 

Directors  are  merely  to  lead  us  to  God. 
They  are  guides  whom  we  should  obey,  but 
riot  a  bond,  not  an  attachment,  not  a  sersd- 
tude.  God  alone  is  the  end.  Let  your  heart 
rest  in  Him,  entirely  indep'endent  of  every 
creature. 

The  moon,  is  beautiful,  because  she  reflects 
the  sun's  rays.  When  turned  toward  him, 
she  is  wholly  white,  she  is  filled  with  his 
rays,  and  she  radiates  them  even  to  the 
earth.  But  let  a  cloud  intervene,  and  she 
is  at  once  in  darkness.  Thus  it  is  that  a 
soul  turned  toward  God  is  filled  with  the 
rays  of  His  grace,  and  she  reflects  them 
even  on  her  neighbor  by  charity.    But  nothing 


476  CONFERENCE  ON  DIRECTION 

must  intercept  the  influences  that  she  receives 
from    her    focus    of    light. 

Let  us  give  ourselves,  then,  neither  to 
creatures  nor  to  ourselves,  but  let  us  live 
of  God,  for  God,  and  be  always  at  His 
disposition,  always  under  His  gaze  of  light 
and   love. 


GOD  has  CREATED  US 


for  HEAVEN, 


^yss^i!S^*!if'*jg'*fe'^^'^'fi^<t^^'^i^*f^ 


OD  has  created  us  for  heaven,  and  not 
for  earth.  He  has  created  us  in  order 
to  render  us  eternally  happy.  The  life  of 
time  is  only  the  road,  the  bridge,  over  which 
we    must    pass    in    order    to   enter    Paradise. 

As  soon  as  a  man  is  baptized,  his  name 
is  inscribed  in  the  Book  of  Life.  He  ha? 
his  place  in  heaven,  he  is  an  heir  of  glory, 
he  has  the  right  of  heritage  with  Jesus 
Christ  and  in  Him. 

Paradise  is  God  possessed,  the  term  of 
God's  love  for  us.  Love  longs  to  give  itself 
and  to  share  all  that  it  has  and  all  that 
it  is.  God,  who  is  infinite  love,  does  not 
desire  to  be  happy  alone.  He  puts  us  in 
Paradise,  in  order  tQ,  give  Himself  to  us 
just  as  He  is,  in  all  His  perfections,  in 
His  infinite  happiness 

Here  below,  God  cannot  give  Himself  to 
us  in  the  whole  extent  of  His  love,  because 
we  are   in  a  state  of  purification,   incapable 


478  GOD    HAS   CREATED   US 

of  receiving  and  containing  Him.  In  order 
that  God  should  give  Himself  fully  to  us, 
we  should  have  the  capacity  of  Jesus  Christ. 
He  forms  it  in  us  day  by  day,  but  only 
on  the  day  of  our  death,  if  we  die  in  His 
love,    will    it    be    complete    and    perfect. 

Here  below,  God  enters  into  us  and  gives 
Himself  according  to  the  measure  of  the 
room  that  we  make  for  Him.  We  give  Him 
more  or  less  of  it.  He  occupies  only  just 
as  much  as  we  allow  Him,  always  less  than 
He  Himself  desires.  He  is  constantly  knock- 
mg  to  get  in  further.  He  is  not  entirely 
within  us. 

But  in  heaven,  we  shall  be  in  God,  plunged 
in  Him,  totally  penetrated  by  Him,  receiving 
in  a  capacity  in  some  measure  infinite,  and 
that  without  intermediary.  We  shall  see  and 
love  Him  in  the  same  way  that  He  sees 
and  loves  Himself.  This  will  be  the  complete 
communication  of  perfect  love.  The  saints 
on  this  earth  have  certain  presentiments  of 
the  tenderness,  the  intensity,  the  happiness 
of  this  union;  and,  feeling  that  they  cannot 
yet   taste  it,   they  groan,   they  suffer  as  did 


FOR     HEAVEN  479 


Saint  Teresa,  who-  died  from  not  being  able 
to    die. 

But  a  soul  who  does  not  live  by  love 
for  God,  suffers  in  another  way.  She  is 
not  happy,  because  she  does  not  correspond 
generously  enough  with  divine  love.  She 
hears  a  call  and  feels  an  attraction  to  which 
she  does  not  respond.  God  punishes  her 
by  preventing  her  from  being  at  rest  in  the 
happiness  of  sloth  that  she  creates  for  herself. 

[  will  say  that  divine  love,  also,  suffers 
from  not  being  able  to  enter,  that  some- 
do  it  violence  by  resisting  it.  With  the  eyes 
of  faith,  we  may  be  able  to  see  the  love 
of  God  soliciting  our  heaft,  and  begging 
us  to  allow  it  to  penetrate  further,  and  we 
say  to  it:  "It  is  too  much.  One  would  have 
to  love  too  much.    Do  not  come  in!  " 

How  often  God  is  thus  dismissed!  He 
can  enter  only  if  we  permit  Him,  and  it 
seems  that  the  demon,  who  also  stands  at 
the  gate  of  our  heart,  says  to  God  mocking- 
ly: "What  are  you  doing  there.  Lord?  You 
are  waiting'  for  them  to  open  to  you,  but 
it   is   trouble   lost.    They   do   not   want   vou. 


480  GOD    HAS    CREATED   US 

They  prefer  the  nothings  and  the  vanities 
that  I  give,  to  your  love!"  And  thus  does 
the  demon  humiliate  God's  love.  But  in 
Paradise,  the  love  of  God  finds  no  obstacle. 
It  displays  itself  in  all  its  power,  and  the 
soul  is  in  God  as  God  is  in  the  soul.  Then 
there  is  liberty  of  love,  effusion  of  love,  and 
it  is  this  that  makes  Paradise.  God  gives 
His  gifts,  His  goodness.  His  riches,  His  ten- 
derness. He  gives  to  the  soul  all  that  He 
has,  and  in  Him  the  soul  is  deified  as  well 
as   beatified. 

Behold  our  end,  to  become  one  with 
God  by  love,  by  the  possession,  and  the 
enjoyment  of  unlimited  happiness ;  to  live 
in  love  eternal,  happy  with  the  happmes? 
of  God,  beautiful  with  His  beauty,  rejoicing 
in  the  happiness  of  Mary,  of  all  the  elect, 
and  of  the  angels,  as  if  it  were  our  own. 
What  a  sublime  end!     what  an  end  of  love  I 

With  a  true  and  earnest  desire,  God  wishes 
us  in  Paradise.  He  wants  to  make  us  all 
enter  therein,  and  that  at  once.  This  was 
the  desire  that  would  have  been  realized 
for    all,    if   Adam    had   not    broken   the   law 


FOR     HEAVEN  481 


of  love  by  sin.  But  now  God  gives  it  only 
to  those  that  are  clothed  with  the  merits 
of    His    Divine    Son's    Redemptio 

As  for  us,  we  are  in  the  way,  we  are 
going  there,  we  are  tending  to  it  along 
the  road  that  God  Himself  has  marked  out. 
The  soul  that  '  loves  God  dies  not.  She 
simply  reaches  ;the  end  of  her  journey,  and 
the  barriers  fall.  She  only  changes  her  con- 
dition. Her  love  of  suffering  becomes  a 
love  of  beatitude.  Her  body  itself  does  but 
rest  in  the  earth,  therein  preparing  for  its 
renewal  in  glory.  Plants  and  animals  die, 
btrt  man  dies  not,  he  only  changes  his  state. 
The  earth  will  •  not  retain  the  dust  of  his 
bones.  It  will  restore  all  for  the  glorious 
resurrection,  and  the  whole  man  will  live 
again  forever. 

Paradise  is,  then,  our  end  prepared  by  God 
in  order  that  we  may  be  enabled  to  love 
Him  infinitely.  We  must,  then,  desire  it 
for  that,  above  all,  since  we  can  there  love 
the  good  God  without  obstacle,  without  end, 
without  limit. 

There  are  degrees  in  the  desire  ot  tieaven 


4S2  GOD    HAS   CREATED   US 


Some  say  "  I  want  to  go  to  heaven,  because 
I  shall  be  happy  there,  ^because  people  are 
so  well-off  there.  "  This  is  the  first  and 
lowest  of  desires  for  heaven.  It  is  lawful, 
but  it  is  chiefly  the  desire  of  those  that 
live  only  for  self,  that  work  only  for  wages 
as  the  day-laborers.  It  is  lawful,  it  fits  in 
perfectly  with  the  Christian  law.  But  where 
is  the  love,  where  is  the  desire  to  see  the 
good    God? 

Others  say:  "I  want  to  go  to  Paradise, 
that  I  may  no  more  offend  God.  "  That 
is  better,  that  desire  is  more  noble,  it  has 
the  interests  of  God's  glory  more  in  view. 
There  is  some  love  in  that  motive  since 
it  is  to  be  forever  faithful  to  Him  that 
they   desire   heaven. 

But  there  are  others  who  say:  "I  want  to 
go  to  Paradise  in  order  to  love  the  good 
God,  to  see  Him,  to  praise  Him,  and  always 
to  thank  Him.  "  Oh!  here  is  perfection, 
since  they  want  the  good  God  for  Himself 
What  a  pleasing  thing  to  hear  one  speaking 
in  this  way!  We  say:  Here  are  souls  who 
really  love.     It   is,   indeed,    beautiful! 


FOR     HEAVEN  483 


But  would  it  not  be  better,  instead  of 
desiring  heaven,  to  ask  to  remain  upon  earth 
in  order  to  labor  and  suffer  in  humiliation? 

Some  of  the  saints  made  this  prayer  in 
a  transport  of  love.  But  I  think,  taking 
the  thing  in  itself,  there  is  more  perfection 
in  wishing  to  go  to  God  in  order  to  love 
Him  more;  the  one  desires  to  increase  his 
crown,  the  other  wants  to  glorify  God  by 
the  love  of  heaven,  which  is  far  more 
powerful  than  love  here  below.  If  the  desire 
of  heaven  in  order  to  love  more  were  not 
in  itself  more  perfect  and  gave  not  more 
glory  to  God  than  the  desire  of  remain- 
ing on  earth  in  order  to  labor  more, 
how  explain  those  ardent  longings  that  the 
saints  in  general  had  for  heaven,  even  at 
the  time  when  they  were  laboring  most  for 
God?  Had  they  thought  it  more  perfect 
to  remain,  they  would  not  have  so  urgently 
supplicated  to  be  united  to  God.  But  they 
knew  that  in  heaven  they  could  love  and 
glorify  Him  more.  Thus  Saint  Paul,  though 
converting  the  nations,  earnestly  demanded 
the   dissolution   of   his   body.    However  holy 


484  GOD    HAS    CREATED    US 

one  may  be,  he  will  never  love  as  much  here 
below    as    he    will    love    in    the    Fatherland. 

Behold  the  beautiful  desire  of  heaven, 
behold  the  most  perfect!  Sigh  thus  after 
Paradise, 

Love  essentially  longs  for  union.  The  great- 
er the  love,  the  more  it  aims  at  close  and  per- 
fect union.  If  I  love  the  good  God,  I  desire 
Him,  He  loves  me,  and  He,  too,  desires  me. 
These  two  attractions  end  by  exhausting  life, 
and  then  love  enters  into  all  its  power  and 
its  liberty  of  expansion  in  the  bosom  of  God. 

The  desire  of  heaven  is  holy.  God  wishe? 
us  frequently  to  desire  it,  and  that  is  the 
reason  He  has  filled  our  life  with  suffering, 
persecution,  and  the  cross.  It  is  for  thar 
-He  permits  the  inconstancy  of  human  friend- 
ships. He  does  not  want  us  to  be  attached 
to  the  goods  of  this  world,  nor  to  any 
one  in  the  world.  We  are  not  made  for 
one  another,  but  for  God  alone.  The  hap- 
piness of  this  world  is  but  a  point  without 
continuity,  without  length.  One  cannot  attach 
himself  to  it  for  any  length  of  time,  cannot 
establish  himself  in  it. 


FOR     HEAVEN 


We  complain  of  the  difficulties  of  the  way, 
of  the  crosses  that  we  encounter.  They 
are  the  key  of  Paradise.  Life  is  a  road 
bordered  by  briers  and  thorns.  Our  Lord 
is  walking  before  us  bearing  His  Cross,  let 
us  follow  Him.  He  has  left  the  imprint 
of  His  steps,  let  us  place  our  feet  in  them. 
If  we  turn  to  the  right  or  to  the  left, 
thinking  to  find  happiness,  we  shall  scratch 
ourselves  with  the  thorns,  for  it  is  the  Saviour 
Himself  who  compares  the  joys  of  this  world 
to  thorns. 

Follow,  then,  Our  Lord,  for  He  is  on 
the  way  to  Paradise.  Take  your  cross,  carry 
it  courageously  to  the  end  in  order  to  arrive 
in  His  suite.  Fear  not  to  suffer  and  to  die 
daily  for  Paradise.  If  you  find  the  road 
difficult,  Our  Lord  says  to  you  that  you  will 
thereby   arrive   more   quickly. 

Do  not  think  so  much  of  the  difficultie? 
of  the  way.  That  which  His  grace  has 
traced  out  for  you,  is  the  good  way  for 
you,  and  His  mercy  will  sustain  you  in 
it.  It  is  that  way  which  will  surely  lead 
you  straight  to  heaven. 


^^i»^«aft«ft««'R*a^a&«ift*yii'tft«afe«y^*y-,«y.«ift«as^a5^ 


ONLY  TO  PURITY  OF  HEART.     Bf 


^              HEAVEN  is  GIVEN 
^  


OD  in  His  love  has  created  us  for 
heaven.  Heaven  ought  to  be  the  ob- 
ject of  all  our  desires,  our  only  true  end. 
We  are  on  earth  only  to  render  ourselves 
worthy  of  heaven.  But  heaven  is  not  given ; 
it  has  to  be  purchased.  Little  children  who 
die  after  Baptism  receive  it  without  personal 
merit,  it  is  true.  Our  Lord  pays  for  them, 
but  adults  receive  it  only  on  a  title  of  justice, 
Coronam  justitice.  True  it  is  that  God  gives 
us  the  means  of  meriting  it,  but  we  must 
correspond  with  His  grace  and  faithfully  em- 
ploy those  means.  He  gives  and  He  recom- 
penses in  us  His  own  gifts,  if  we  have 
rendered  them  fruitful.  Thus  does  He  rec- 
oncile the  goodness  of  His  mercy  and  the 
requirements    of    His    justice. 

Let  us  not  forget  that  we  have  to  merit, 
purchase,  and  pay  for  heaven.  The  present 
time  is  intended  only  for  amassing  its  price. 
The  crown  of  justice  is  given  only  to  victory. 


HEAVEN     IS    GIVEN     ONLY     TO     PURITY  487 

and  to  receive  it  we  must  persevere  till  death. 
It  is  not  enough  tO'  run  the  race  for  some 
years,  one  is  crowned  only  when  he  reaches 
the  goal.  For  every  one,  the  absolute  and 
necessary  price  of  heaven,  is  fidelity  to  his 
own  grace,  to  his  particular  grace.  God  does 
not  demand  from  all  an  equal  measure  of 
merits  and  virtues;  but  there  is,  nevertheless, 
one  measure  strictly  required,  one  condition 
essential  for  all,  and  that  is  the  state  of 
grace.  One  must  be  pure  to  enter  heaven. 
This  law  is  indispensable  and  without  ex- 
ception,— heaven  is  awarded  only  to  purity. 
Nothing-   soiled   will    ever    enter    there. 

Hence,  not  knowing:  when  God  will  call 
us,  let  us  have  always  at  hand  the  price  of 
our  Paradise,  and  let  us  be  pure  of  heart, 
pure  in  our  life,  free  from  all  sin.  The 
purer  we  shall  be,  for  there  are  deg-rees 
in  purity,  the  more  glorious  shall  we  be  in 
heaven,  and  the  nearer  we  shall  approach 
to  God.  It  is  purity  of  life  that  decides 
the  degree  of  every  saint's  glory. 
^We  must,  then,  adhere  to  purity  of  life. 
Let    us    not    tiirh    away    from    it,    for    it    is 


488  HEAVEN   IS    GIVEN   ONLY 

essential,  absolutely  necessary.  We  must  be 
free  from  every  mortal  sin  under  pain  of 
eternal  damnation,  and  from  every  venial 
sin  under  pain  of  delaying  our  happiness, 
sometimes   for  a  very  long  time 

Do  you  want,  then,  to  go  to  Paradise? 
Be  pure  from  every  mortal  sin,  and  I  add: 
Be  pure  from  every  deliberate  venial  sin. 
Oh,  never  consent  to  it;  or  if  you  do 
get  rid  of  it  at  once  I  In  the  Old  Law. 
God  prescribed  innumerable  purifications. 
This  was  the  warning  that  He  gave  us  of 
the  necessity  of  purifying  ourselves  inces- 
santly by  the  baptism  of  love  in  the  Holy 
Spirit. 

Are  you  sensitive  on  the  subject  of  purity, 
avoiding  even  the  appearance  of  sin,  the 
least  occasions,  all  that  which,  far  or  near, 
looks  like  sin?  If  so,  you  are  on  the  straight 
road  to  Paradise;  purgatory  will  have  no 
work  to  do  in  you. 

Shun,  then,  the  least  faults,  in  order  not 
lo  force  Our  Lord  to  make  you  wait  for 
your  reward.  It  distresses  Him  much  to  put 
souls    into    purgatory.     He    does    it,    because 


TO    PURITY    OF    HEART  489 

His  justice  demands  it,  but  it  is  most  painful 
to  His  love. 

The  conclusion  of  all  this  is  that  you 
be  ready  to  die  rather  than  commit  a  mortal 
sin,  and  ready  to  die,  also,  rather  than  commit 
a  venial  sin  with  deliberation.  Rather  endure 
all  things,  rather  death  itself  than  offend 
Godl  It  would  be  better  to  let  the  whole 
world  go  to  ruin  rather  than  try  to  save  it 
by  the  smallest   venial  sin. 

Live,  then,  in  this  disposition  of  enduring 
everything,  of  allowing  yourself  to  be  de- 
spoiled of  everything,  to  be  ready  to  beg  your 
bread  barefoot,  rather  than  consent  to  a 
venial    sin. 

But  how  often  we  tell  fibs  to  excuse  our- 
selves   and    hide    our   faults! 

How  many  sins  against  the  neighbor  I  Be 
very  strict  in  this  regard.  God  is  very  reserv- 
ed in  pardoning  such  sins-  Because  they 
are  sins  of  society,  committed  against  family 
union.  He  metes  out  their  punishment  upon 
the  whole  family.  They  strike  Him  in  the 
Heart,  and  He  has  not  patience  to  await 
the  other  life  in  order  to  punish  them.    He 

The  Divine  Eucharist,  ^2 


490  HEAVEN   IS    GIVEN    ONLY 

takes  vengeance  upon  them  in  this  world, 
and  terribly  I  Such  faults  violate  His  two 
most  sacred  laws,  that  of  the  love  of  God, 
and  that  of  the  love  of  the  neighbor.  And 
yet,  how  many  faults  against  charity,  humility, 
patience  with  regard  to  the  neighbor!  Our 
Lord  warns  us  that  we  shall  render  an  account 
for  every  useless  word.  What  will  it  be  for 
those  words  against  authority,  those  back- 
biting words,  those  words  against  God's 
S'oodness,  those  words  against  the  poor  of 
Jesus  Christ,  against  the  lowly  who  are 
already  humiliated  by  their  inferiority,  what- 
ever it  may  bel 

Ah,  what  matter  for  the  exameni  What 
fuel  for  the  fire  of  purgatory  1  Do. not  excuse 
yourselves  for  these  faults.  Some  may  tell 
you  through  charity  that  they  are  small, 
that  you  commit  them  only  through  levity 
and  surprise.  But  never  do  you  say  that 
to  yourselves.  Can  we  excuse  ouiselves  for 
having   given  pain  to   the   good   God? 

Now  examine  again  the  good  that  you 
have  spoiled,  the  grace  that  you  have  lost. 
— They  are  not  sins,  do  you  say?— In  them- 


TO    PURITY   OF    HEART  491 

selves,  perhaps  not;  but  yes,  indeed,  in  their 
cause.  How  have  you  lost  those  graces? 
By  sloth,  by  negligence,  is  it  not?  You  are, 
then,  guilty  of  negligence  and  sloth. 

Yes,  yes,  you  may  expect  to  go  a  long 
time  to  purgatory,  and  for  these  trifles,  for 
a  little  word  that  escaped  you,  and  which 
you  knew  not  how  to  repress.  Ah,  you  will 
remember  it  a  long  time !  A  little  laziness, 
a  little  duty  put  off,  for  all  such  things  you 
will  pay  in  purgatory  even  to  the  last 
farthing. 

Fly  the  shadow  of  sin,  says  the  Hol> 
Spirit,  as  you  would  flee  from  a  viper.  Notice 
carefully  that  He  is  speaking  of  only  the 
shadow  of  sin,  and  He  recommends  flight 
from    it    as   from    death   itself. 

Do  not  delude  yourselves.  We  can  appear 
perfect  exteriorly,  and  yet  commit  many  sins 
interiorly.  Most  of  the  sins  of  a  rehgious 
are  in  the'  heart,  in  thought,  feeling,  pausing 
in  the  interior  will  without  manifesting  them 
selves  in  the  exterior  act. 

And  then,  what  abomination,  very  often 
what    folly  I    We    commit    faults    against    the 


492  HEAVEN    IS    GIVEN    ONLY 

good  God  in  order  not  to  displease  the  creat- 
ure, in  order  not  to  sadden  her,  or  even 
to  give  her  pleasure;  but  no  one  deserves 
that  you  should  give  her  pleasure  at  the 
price    of    venial    sin ! 

I  can  understand  faults,  of  weakness  and 
surprise;  but  what  I  cannot  understand,  is 
that  some  commit  such  sins  through  fear  of 
displeasing  the  creature.  What  I  understand 
is  that  I  am  master  of  my  own  conscience, 
that  no  one  can  do  it  violence,  and  I  would 
rather  make  an  enemy  than  wound  my 
conscience. 

Is  it  not  true  that  a  child  can  never  be 
forced  to  strike  its  father?  Well  conscience 
has  no  friend.  When  there  is  question  of 
sin,  you  know  no  one.  It  is  life  or  death. 
"This  thing  pleases  you?  So  much  the 
better.  That  thing  displeases  you?  So  much 
the  worse.  I  know  only  God  and  my  own 
conscience!  " 

The  world  says  that  the  sa  nts  are  inflex 
ible.  That's  what  they 'ought  to  be.  It  says 
that  religious  people  are  intolerant.  That's 
what  they  have  to  be. 


i 


TO    PURITY    OF    HEART  493 

You  say  that  we  should  yield  all  we  can, 
and  be  conciliating.  You  are  going  to  sully 
yourselves.  Are  you  obliged  to  taste  poison 
in  order  to  try  it?  Remember  that  old  man 
Eleazar  whose  enemies  wanted  him  to  eat 
in  secret  the  flesh  of  the  sacrifice,  which 
was  forbidden.    No,  he  preferred  death. 

Well  now,  our  whole  Christian  life  relig 
ious  and  Eucharistic,  ought  to  tend  to  make 
us  purer.  The  sun's  rays,  striking  through 
the  air,  purify  it.  Ah,  behold  the  divine 
sun,  the  sun  of  love!  It  ought  to  purify 
you.  The  love  of  God  is  the  fire  of  our 
life.     Its  first  and  last  effect  is  to  purify  us. 

Remember  that  they  who  have  a  pure 
heart  are  happy,  because  they  will  see  God, 
and  because  they  are  the  virgins  who.singing 
His  canticle,  will  follow  the  Lamb  in  heaven 
whithersoever  He  goeth. 

I  was  very  much  touched  the  first  time 
that  I  read  that  verse.  Not  all  the  saints, 
but  the  saints  that  are  virgins,  have  the 
beautiful  privilege  of  drawing  nearest  *to 
the    Lamb. 

Consequently,  be  always  pure.      And  when 


494    HEAVEN    IS    GIVEN    ONLY    TO    PURITY 

you  shall  have  displeased  Our  Lord,  give 
yourself  no  rest  until  you  have  purified 
yourself,  and  He  has  pardoned  you.  Be 
pure,  and  for  that  be  very  loving.  It  is 
love  that  makes  the  refinement  and  the 
whiteness  of  purity.  It  is  love  that  renders 
it  luminous  ajid  brilliant.  May  Our  Lord 
say  to  you  as  to  Magdalen:  "Many  sins 
are  forgiven  you,  because  you  have  loved 
much.  " 

A  pure  soul  is  heaven  begun,  for  Paradise 
does  but  consummate  and  crown  her  purity. 


CONFERENCE 


4 


ON  the  EXAMENS. 


^T  is  good  and  necessary  to  have  some 
methods  for  the  different  exercises 
of  one's  life,  because  if  we  rely  on  our 
good  will,  we  shall  lose  three-fourths  of 
our  time  in  considering  how  to  perform 
them,  aridity  being  more  frequent  than 
fervor. 

Methods  are  to  the  devout  life  what  disci- 
pline is  for  an  army.  If  every  one  fought 
according  to  his  own  ideas,  there  would 
be  no  longer  any  force  of  cohesion.  The 
ord<2r  well  given,  well  transmitted  and  "execut 
ed  from  point  to  point,  assures  victory.  In 
the  same  way,  exercises  made  with  order  ^ 
support  one  another  and  encompass  our  life, 
hindering  it  from  straying,  and  maintaining 
it  in  the  facility  of  acting  always  according 
to  obedience  and  grace. 

I  am  going  to  speak  to  you  about  ex- 
amens.  First,  let  us  lay  down  some  prin- 
ciples. 


496        CONFERENCE    ON   THE   EXAMENS 

If  every'  religious  were  very  recollected 
in  God,  he  would  be  always  present  to 
himself  and  would  follow  without  effort  and  . 
by  a  single  interior  glance,  even  the  first 
movements  of  his  heart.  He  would,  at  first 
sight  recognize  all  that  might  be  contrary 
to    the    truth    or    to    the    sanctity    of    God. 

To  supply  for  the  weakness  of  virtue  and 
to  hold  it  always  on  the  alert,  your  Rule 
orders  you  three  examens  every  day,  name- 
ly, the  examen  of  foresight  in  the  morning, 
the  particular  examen  at  noon;  and  the  gener- 
al examen  of  the  whole  day  in  the  evening 
before    retiring. 

Perform  these  different  examens  with  great 
care  and  diligence,  because  they  are  the 
indispensable  means  to  arrive  at  the  knowl- 
^edge  of  your  faults  and  effectually  to  cor- 
rect them.  Make  them  even  the  matter 
connected  with  your  spiritual  direction,  a$ 
far  as  regards  exterior  defects  and  tempta- 
tions. 

In  your  examens,  aim  first  at  correcting 
all  your  exterior  defects,  one  after  another, 
or    according    as    circumstances    render    you 


CONFERENCE    ON    THE    EXAMENS        497 

weaker  in  one  or  the  other.  Exterior  de- 
fects wound  directly  and  openly  the  respect 
and  dignity  of  your  service  "near  Our  Lord. 
They  are  more  opposed  to  charity  and  the 
edification  of  the  neighbor. 

Remember,  however,  that  the  best  made 
examens  always  remain  fruitless,  if  the  sanc- 
tion of  penitence  and  some  means  of  greater 
vigilance  do  not  assure  their  efficacy  One 
of  these-  means  is  the  little  reminder  which 
we  call  a  bernard,  whose  beads  serve  to 
mark,  as  soon  as  committed,  faults  or  omis- 
sions, in  order  that  they  may  be  recalled 
more  readily  in  the  next  examen.  Get  one, 
and  carry  it  about  you  and,  at  every  failure 
in  your  resolutions,  draw  down  a  bead.  It 
is  very  simple  but  little  means  lead  to  great 
things. 

Now,  let  us  see  the  nature  of  the  examen 
and   its   practice. 

In  the  first  place,  you  must  give  to  it 
primary  importance,  and  consecrate  to  it  all 
the  dihgence  it  deserves.  The  examen  is 
the  true  discussion  of  our  interior  and 
exterior  acts,  in  order  to  observe  and  discover 


498         CONFERENCE   ON   THE   EXAMENS 

defects,  humbling  ourselves  for  them  before 
God,  and  trying  to  amend  for  His  love 
and   glory. 

People  do  not  like  the  examen.  It  is 
the  most  difficult  and  the  most  repugnant 
act  of  piety.  Because  no  one  likes  to  be- 
hold himself  always  guilty  and  always  hu- 
miliated. It  also  costs  much  to  reflect  on 
one's  thoughts,  to  analyze  and  discuss  them. 
One  would  often  prefer  some  great  exterior 
mortification  to  some  minutes  of  serious  exam- 
en;  and  yet,  without  the  examen,  afnend- 
ment  is  impossible.  One  never  corrects  that 
of  which  he  is  ignorant.  Hence,  more  true 
humility,  since  this  virtue  rests  on  the  truth 
derived  from  the  knowledge  of  one's  misery. 
Confidence  in  God  loses  its  eloquence  before 
poverty  and  misery,  and  even  love  is  silent, 
because   one   is    in   self-ignorance. 

It  is,"  then,  too  true  that  a  pious  soul 
who  does  not  follow  herself  up,  who  does 
not  examine  herself  regularly,  is  no  longer 
sensitive  to  the  avoidance  of  sin.  She  be- 
comes exterior,  an  enigma  and  a  mystery 
to   herself.    She   is   like   a  wheaifield,    which 


CONFERENCE    ON    THE   EXAMENS        499 

presents  a  fine  appearance,  because  it  ii> 
still  green,  but  which  tares  invade  and  de- 
vour the  sap.  On  the  day  of  the  harvest 
only  poor  and  scattered  ears  will  be  found. 

A  pious  soul  who  does  not  examine  her- 
self is  always  on  extremes,  either  in  blind 
security,  like  the  merchant  who  ruins  him 
self  by  selling  at  a  loss  without  knowing 
it;  or  in  false  and  exaggerated  humility, 
because  she  does  not  want  to  take  the  trouble 
to  examine  and  determine  precisely  the 
truth  of  her  state.  She  thinks  that  she  has 
done  well  and  has  said  all  in  confessing  her' 
self  before  God  and  her  own  self  the  poorest 
and  most  miserable  of  creatures,  and  this 
same  accusation  she  carries  to  the  tribunal  of 
penance.  Now,  what  happens?  She  remains 
ever  in  her  defects,  her  piety,  meantime, 
constantly  decreasing. 

The  best  agent  of  the  examen  is  love. 
A  soul  that  lov^es  God  with  all  her  heart 
easily  sees  her  faults,  and  even  the  smallest 
movement  of  evil  nature,  and  she  is  in- 
standy  conscious  of  the  presence  of  the 
tempter.    Such  a  soul  beholds  herself  in  God 


500        CONFERENCE   ON    THE   EXAMENS 

as  in  a  faithful  mirror.  She  reads  herself 
in  God  as  does  the  child  who,  at  a  mere 
glance,  reads  its  fault  in  the  trouble,  or 
the  silence,  or  the  withdrawal  of  affection 
on  the  part  of  its  father  and  mother.  This 
is  -  the  most  perfect  examen,  since  it  is  in 
its  centre  of  action  and  perfection,  in  the 
life  of  love,  which  suffices  for  all  things, 
and  is  the  end  of  all  means  of  holiness, 
tvhatever   they   may    be. 

This  should  be  the  first  disposition  of  the 
soul  on  coming  before  the  Blessed  Sacra- 
ment. The  light  of  the  divine  fire  that 
bums  in  the  Heart  of  Our  Lord  ought,  at 
the  beginning  of  all  your  Adorations,  pen 
etrate  into  the  inmost  recesses  of  your 
souT,  -and  show  you  in  one  instant  all  its 
poverty  and  all  its  actual  misery.  It  should 
fill  it  at  once  with  a  profound  sense  of 
its  ingratitude,  its  unworthiness  while,  at 
the  same  time,  encouraging  it  by  confidence 
of  bbtaining  pardon,  since  you  are  at  the 
foot   of   the   throne   of  grace  and   mercy. 

When  one  enters  the  presence  of  a  prince, 
his  first  act  is  to  look  at  him,   and  then   to 


CONFERENCE    ON    THE    EXAMENS         501 

cast:  a  glance  on  self  to  see  whether  every- 
thing about  him  is  as  it  should  be,  whether 
lie    will    be    pleasing    to   him    just    as    he    is. 

But  in  this  method  there  is  less  an  examen 
properly  so  called  than  the  vigilance  of 
refinement.  Make  of  the  examen  a  relig- 
ious exercise  in  itself,  according  to  the  form 
and  method  that  we  shall  here  give  you 
by  the  appUcation  of  the  four  ends  of  .  the 
Holy    Sacrifice. 

The  first  is  the  examen  of  foresight,  which 
is  made  in  the  morning.  It  should  last  only 
five    minutes. 

1.  Adore  Our  Lord  as  your  Knig,  who 
IS  calling  you  to  labor  this  day  in  His 
lovely  service  and  for  His  glory.  Offer  Him 
at  once  and  for  the  whole  day  the  homage 
of  your  heart,  mind,  body,  of  your  whole 
life,  because  He  sovereignly  deserves  it  from 
every  creature.  Rejoice  at  the  honor,  the 
happiness  of  spending  this  beautiful  day 
wholly  in  the  service  of  the  adorable  Eu- 
charist. 

2.  Thank  this  good  Master  for  so  great 
a   grace,    as    well    as   for   all    others    of   your 


502        CONFERENCE   ON    THE   EXAMENS 

life,  but  principally  for  your  Baptism,  your 
vocation,  and  for  the  graces  His  love  ha? 
prepared  for  you  to-day.  Thank  Him  for 
accepting  your  services.  To  ser\'e  Him  one 
day  is  worth  a  whole  life  time,  all  Paradise. 

3.  Recognize,  your  weakness  and  defects 
in  view  of  so  beautiful  and  holy  a  vocation 
as  is  that  of  Adoration.  Coyifess  anew  to 
Our  Lord  your  faults  of  the  eve,  your  habitual 
tepidity.  Detest  again  that  spirit  of  the  world 
which  is  always  reviving,  the  power  of  self- 
love,  dissipation  of  soul,,  cowardice  of  the 
will;  and  promise  Our  Lord  to  correct  your 
dominant  defect,  of  which  you  will  determine 
some  special  act  to  shun  and  to  correct 
on  the  present  day.  Recall  the  particular 
resolution  you  took  for  the  whole  month  at 
your  monthly  retreat.  Resolve  what  acts  of 
it  you  will  make  during  the  day;  but. 
above  all,  fix  upon  some  penance  to  perform 
after  your  failings,  immediately  after,  if  pos- 
sible. This  is  important. 

4.  Pray  and  ask  Our  Lord  for  the  grace  to 
be  more  faithful  to-day.  Commend  yourself 
iq  the  Blessed  Virgin  and  to  your  good  angel. 


CONFERENCE    ON    THE   EXAMENS        503 


and    set    to    work    with    the    help    of    grace. 

We  may,  also,  make  five  acts  for  the  exam- 
en  in  this  order:  Recall  the  presence  of 
God,  and  adore  Him;  thank  Him;  implore 
light  of  the  Holy  Spirit  through  the  inter- 
cession of  Mary;  then  inquire  into  one's 
faults;    lastly,    repent    and    resolve. 

The  four  ends  of  the  Holy  Sacrifice  com- 
prise these  acts,  as  you  see.  It  is  better 
for  you  to  make  use  of  this  method,  which 
you  already  employ  at  Adoration  and  in 
Communion.  That  leads  to  unity  in  piety, 
and  it  is  very  advantageous  to  simplify  these 
pious    means. 

In  the  same  way,  again,  when  a  feast, 
or  a  mystery,  or  some  special  circumstance 
presents  itself,  let  your  examen  touch  upon 
the  spirit  of  the  occasion.  Adore  Our  Lord  in 
the  state  of  this  mystery,  and  perform  the 
other  acts  in  its  spirit.  You  will,  then,  have 
its  grace  for  the  whole  day'. 

The  second  examen  is  that  which  I  shall 
call  particular,  because  it  bears  upon  some 
certain  point.  Make  it,  also,  during  two  or 
three  minutes  only. 


504        CONFERENCE   ON   THE   EXAMENS 

1.  Adore  Our  Lord  as  a  good  Master, 
in  whose  .service  you  are  happy  to  be. 

2.  Thank  Him,  but  quickly,  by  a  single 
act,  for  the  past  half-day. 

3.  Cast  a  rapid  glance  on  the  actions 
of  the  morning,  to  see  whether  you  have 
performed  them  well,  according  to  the  law 
of  obedience  and  the  virtue  proper  to  them. 
Then  concentrate  your  examen  upon  the 
virtue  that  you  are  aiming  to  acquire  espe- 
cially during  this  month.  See  whether  you 
have  made  some  positive  acts  of  the  virtue 
that  you  had  determined  in  the  examen  of 
foresight. 

4.  Excite  yourself  to  contrition  and  to 
keep  it  better. 

The  third  examen  is  that  of  the  whole 
day,  called  the  general  examen.  It  is  made 
on  all  the  duties  of  your  vocation  and  on 
all  the  faults  you  may  have  committed 
during    the    whole    day. 

Make  it,  also,  by  the  four  ends  of  the 
Holy  Sacrifice,  but  with  the  following  mod- 
ifications : 

1.    Adore    Our    Lord    as    your    Judge,    to 


CONFERENCE    ON    THE    EXAMENS         505 

whom  you  come  to  render  an  account  of  your 
day  as  of  the  last,  perhaps,  that  He  will 
give  you  before  calling  you  to  appear  at 
His    tribunal. 

Thank  Him  for  all  the  graces  of  the  day, 
run  over  the  principal  ones,  and  praise  Hi? 
infinite   goodness    toward   you. 

3.  Humble  yourself,  and  examine  your 
conscience  by  glancing  at  the  different  duties 
of  the  day  from  your  rising  until  the  evening. 
Recall  the  resolutions  of  the  morning  and 
of  noon.  See  whether  you  have  made  the 
acts   that  you   promised. 

4.  Lastly,  excite  yourself  to  true  contrition 
as  you  do  when  you  receive  sacramental 
absolution.  Make  satisfaction  to  Divine  Jus- 
tice by  the  penance  proposed,  and  abandon 
yourself  to  the  mercy  of  God.  Then  go 
asleep  near  Him,  under  His  roof,  or  better, 
in  His  arms  so   maternal. 

Remark  relatively  to  the  contrition  of  the 
cxamen,  the  best  means  is  humbly  tO'  ask 
it  of  God.  It  is  not  necessary  to  feel  it. 
He  really  has  it  who  asks  for  it  with  humility 
and    earnestness,    although   he    may    feel    no 

The  Di%ine  Eucharist.  13 


506    CONFERENCE  ON  THE  EXAMENS 

movement  of  it.  The.  sensible  feeling  is  never 
requisite.  As  one  adv'ances  in  age,  he  feels 
less.  As  for  those  that  always  want  to  feel 
keenly,  if^  they  are  not  careful,  they  will 
hurt  themselves. 

Remark  again  that  the  examen  ought  to 
be  made  on  positive  acts,  which  have  really 
taken  place,  whether  from  without,  or  only 
in  the  will.  As  to  temptations,  do  not  try 
to  recall  them,  to  give  life  to  their  phantoms, 
in  order  to  know  whether,  perhaps,  you  have 
not  consented.  This  is  not  necessary.  It  is 
a  ruse  of  the  demon  to  make  the  temptation 
return,  to  make  you  find  in  it  a  little 
pleasure,  and  to  extort  from  you  a  half- 
consent. 

No,  be  conscientious,  but  not  scrupulous. 
When  one  has  been  wounded,  one  feels  it 
enough  without  having  need  to  search  minute- 
ly. You  will  very  soon  be  conscious  of 
remorse  and  trouble.  Humble  yourself  for 
it  without  trying  to  awaken  what  has  been 
hushed  to  rest,  and  which  might,  perhaps, 
sully   you   by    its    remembrance. 

So    much    for    the    examen,    its    nature    and 


CONFERENCE    ON    THE    EXAMENS         507 

its  spirit.  Be  very  faithful  to  it,  and  you 
will  find  peace  in  it,  while  at  the  same 
time  Our  Lord  will  reward  you  magnificently 
for  having  faithfully  administered  in  the 
little  things  of  every  day,  the  talents  and 
graces   that    He   has    entrusted   to   you. 


WE   MUST   LIVE 


of  the  MERCY  of  GOD. 


[he  Prophet  composed  a  Canticle,  the 
most  beautiful  with  which  his  heart 
had  been  inspired.  It  is  the  canticle  of  the 
mercy  of  God,  in  which  he  repeats  at  every 
verse  that  His  mercy  endureth  forever. 
(Ps.   cxxxv.) 

David  had  good  reason  to  bless  that  mercy, 
to  sing  that  ocean  of  mercy,  because  he 
had  sinned,  and  that  mercy  had  saved  him 
from  hh  sin.  There  are  saints  who  are  the 
work  of  divine  mercy,  and  who  became 
greater  saints  by  -the  power  of  mercy  and 
by  the  constant  homage  they  afterward 
rendered  to  it,  than  they  would  have  been 
by  innocence  and  virginity.  Witness  Saint 
Peter,  far  greater,  far  more  devoted  after 
his  sin  than  before,  also  Saint  Paul  and 
Saint  Magdalen.  Their  sanctity  was  nourish- 
ed on  mercy,  their  tears  were  the  food  of 
their   love. 

If  you   are   angels,   live  of    the   majesty    of 


THE     MERCY    OF    GOD  509 

God;  but  if  you  are  human  and  sinners, 
live  of  the  mercy,  exalt  the  goodness  of  God 
who  has  saved  you,  and  who  gives  you 
life.  We  must  learn  how  to  exalt  the  mercy 
of  the  good  God,  to  see  therein  all  our 
gifts,  all  our  graces,  and  to  have  constantly 
on  our  lips  this  cry  of  gratitude:  "My  God, 
Thou  hast  been  so  good  to  me  who  am  so 
wicked!  " 

This  thought  of  past  sins  does  not  render 
one  unhappy.  It  detaches  from  sin  and  at 
taches  to  the  divine  goodness.  If  one  weeps 
over  it,  the  heart  pours  itself  out  in  sweet 
tears  of  penance  and  love,  and  such  tears 
make    one    happy. 

Every  one  knows  how  much  he  owes  to 
the  mercy  of  God,  and  we  can  all  say  that 
it  is  due  to  Him  that  we  have  not  fallen 
into  hell.  The  more  sins  we  have  committed, 
the  more  grateful  should  we  be  to  His 
mercy. 

If  we  have  never  sinned  mortally,  God's 
mercy  in  pardoning  us  our  venial  sins  is 
not  less.  It  is  always  the  fruit  of  Jesus' 
blood.    And    then   we   renew   them  so    often 


510  THE    MERCY    OF    GOD 

that  God  has  to  exercise  it  incessantly,  while 
the  occasions  of  mortal  sin  are  raider.  Be- 
sides, when  we  sin  venially,  we  are  in  His 
friendship,  and  we  afflict  His  Heart  and  His 
love  in  the  tender  est  point. 

God's  mercy  is  magnanimous.  He  pardons 
generously  and  forever,  for  He  knows  not 
how  to  forget  only  half.  He  restores  the 
joy  of  innocence  and  the  honor  of  the  first 
state.  He  pardons  not  as  a  man,  but  as 
God.  He  Avishes  us  still  to  remember  our 
sins,  but  with  a  thought  of  love,  of  gratitude, 
in  order  to  laud  His  mercy  which  has  par- 
doned them. 

And  yet,  we  sometimes  tremble  and  ask 
whether  God  has  indeed  pardoned  our  sins. 
Have  you  prayed  earnestly  that  He  would 
pardon  them?  Have  you  come  with  confi- 
dence that  He  might  pardon  them?  Yes. 
Well,  then,  God  has  pardoned  them.  That 
confidence — it  is  He  who  has  inspired  you 
with  it.  Had  He  not  wished  to  pardon  you, 
He  would  not  have  called  you  ^^o  Him,  nor 
led  you  to  His  feet.  And  again,  did  not 
Our     Lord     give     you     some    moments,     in 


THE     MERCY    OF    GOD  511 

Communion  or  in  devout  Adoration,  above 
all  at  night,  in  which  you  tasted  so  sweet 
I  peace  that  you  were  surprised  at  it?  Alone 
with  the  good  God,  you  were  so  happy  that 
you  forgot  your  body  and  the  earth.  You 
were  transported  into  an  atmosphere  of  divine 
peace.  It  seemed  to  you  to  eat  the  good 
God  I  This  is  a  proof  that  He  has  pardoned 
your  sins.  God  loads  you  with  caresses, 
[presses  you  to  His  Heart,  embraces  you. 
If  He  did  not  love  you  as  His  child  to 
whom  He  has  restored  its  rights  and  His 
love,    He    would,    not    treat    you    thus. 

In  the  same  way,  the  contentment  you 
feel  after  your  confessions  is  a  proof  of 
your  pardon  and  of  the  renewal  of  friendship. 
Goci  wishes  us  to  ,have  the  consciousness 
of  pardon,  by  the  friendship  that  He  testifies 
toward  us.  How  consoling  this  is!  He  is 
not  satisfied  with  giving  us  faith  in  the 
power  of  the  Sacrament  of  Penance,  He 
gives  us,  moreover,  testimonies  of  friend- 
ship, in  order  that  we  may  go  away  happy 
and,    as    it    were,    sure    of    our  .pardon. 

God's  mercy  is  such  that  one  might  think 


512  THE    MERCY    OF    GOD 

He  wishes  to  tempt  us.  Our  Lord  says  to 
us:  "Sin  not.  Nevertheless,  if  you  offend 
My  Father,  come  quickly  to  Me,  and  I 
will  pardon  you.  "  Can  mercy  go  farther 
than  to  grant  pardon  to  the  sinner  in 
advance,  and  promise  to  place  itself  between 
him  and  Divine  Justice?  These  are  the  ex- 
cesses of  mercy  which  triumph  over  God's 
justice — Misericordia   superexnltat  judicium? 

Live,  then,  of  this  mercy.  Let  its  patience 
in  waiting  so  long  and  pardoning  so  often 
draw  you  toward  it.  The  sooner  you  re- 
turn after  having  sinned,  the  sooner  will 
you  be  pardoned.  Consequently,  no  discour- 
agement! Never  say:  "I  have  sinned  too 
much  to  be  pardoned.  See  how  many  times 
I  fall  back  into  the  same  faults!" — No,  but 
see  how  much  greater  than  sin  is  mercy. 
You  are  able  to  count  your  sins,  but  you 
cannot  measure  mercy.  Return,  then,  always 
without  delay  as  often  as  you  offend,  and 
say,  as  the  weeping  child  to  its  mother: 
"  My  God,  I  have  given  Thee  pain,  I  have 
wounded  Thy  Heart,  pardon  me  I  "  You  will 
not    rise    without    having    received    pardon. 


THE     MERCY     OF    GOD  513 

The  good  God  is,  then,  very  good  in 
His  mercy!  He  has  multiplied  the  means 
of  pardon.  It  is  not  necessary  to  confes? 
every  time  you  have  committed  a  venial 
sin.  He  has  placed  in  your  hands  the  sac- 
ramentals,  the  Confiteor,  the  Pater,  and  above 
all  holy  water.  Any  one  of  these  with  an 
act  of  regret,  purifies  you.  Holy  Mass  and 
Benediction  of  the  Blessed  Sacrament  are, 
also,  sacraments  of  mercy.  Lastly,  there  is 
love,  the  turning  of  the  contrite  heart  toward 
Our  Lord,  which  is  an  absolving  from  venial 
faults.  How  sweet  tO'  receive  absolution  from 
Our  Lord  Himself!  When  a  soul  is  at  Our 
Lord's  feet,  humbling  herself,  believing  her- 
self unworthy  to  communicate  because  she 
has  sinned,  oh,  Our  Lord  pardons  her,  gives 
her  absolution  for  her  fault!  Our  Lord  loves* 
us  to  make  Him  pardon  us  in  this  way, 
because  love  then  repairs  far  beyond  the 
injury  of  the  fault. 

Believe  me,  then,  live  always  of  the  mercy 
of  God.  Let  me  suppose  that  you  have 
never  committed  sin;  but  can  you  not  com- 
mit   it?    Oh!    yes,    as    much    as    the    greatest 


514  THE     MERCY    OF    GOD 

criminals.  If,  then,  you  can  commit  it,,  what 
difference  is  there  between  you  and  him 
who  has  really  committed  it?  Wliat  has 
preserved  you  ?  jNIercy,  the  same  that  reclaim- 
ed^ me,  a.  sinner.  We  are  then,  both  the  one 
and  the  other,  debtors  to  this  divine  mercy. 
And  you  yourselves  owe  it  more,  you  whom 
it  preserved  at.  the  moment,  perhaps,  when 
having  already  taken  the  first  step  toward 
evil,  you  were  going  to  consummate  it.  By 
withdrawing  you  from  it,  mercy  has  performed 
two  miracles  instead  of  one.  Live,  then, 
also  on  gratitude  toward  it,  and  place  all 
your   trust   in   it. 

If  the  good  God  were  not  infinite  in 
mercy,  if  He  did  not  know  that  it  could 
never  be  exhausted,  however  great  the  floods 
of  it  that  He  constantly  pours  out,  He 
never  would  have  undertaken  to  lead  us 
to  Paradise.  How  many  preventing  graces 
to  give,  how  many  falls  to  repair,  how  many 
long-suffering  pardons,  what  .innumerable 
pajrdons  during  a  man's  lifetime!  The  good 
God  is  never  discouraged.   His  mercy  never 


THE     MERCY    OF    GOD  515 

abandons  us,  •  and  at  our  last  sigh,  it  i? 
there  to  receive  us. 

It  is  God's  mercy  that  disposes  for  u? 
all  our  graces.  It  was  it  that  prepared  for 
you  this  vocation  which  you  never  could 
have  merited  by  yourselves  So  many  other 
souls  in  the  world  who  are  purer  than  you, 
who  deserve  more  than  you  to  be  always 
in  the  presence  of  the  Blessed  Sacrament 
as  Its  servants,  Its  family!  But  mercy  loves 
you.  It  has  called  you,  and  it  desires  now 
to   give   you   all   that   is   wanting  to   you. 

Aht  say  whether  or  not  the  good  God 
has  not  been  good  to  you,  whether  He  ha? 
not  been  prodigal  of  mercy!  And  you  will 
not  live  in  this  love,  in  this  infinite  mercy? 
You  will  still  rest  your  glance  on  self,  and 
be  held  back  by  a  spider-web?  No,  live 
of  the  love  of  God's  love  and  mercy,  and 
you  will  begin  to  become  saints! 


The  VIRGINAL  LOVE 


of  JESUS. 


^^S?  «0S''  *  «*f"  •*■'  *!■"  •^c'  «^^»^  ?5'W*^'^  5^  •5?3^  »^»^: 


OD  created  you  in  His  love.  His  mercy 
has  loaded  you  with  graces.  He  has 
placed  you  in  the  best  conditions  for  sal- 
vation. How  respond  to  this  love,  if  not  by 
love?  God  having  so  greatly  loved  you,  it 
is    for    you    a    necessity    to    love    Him. 

But  to  you,  above  all,  who  have  vowed 
yourselves  to  Him  by  the  religious  life,  it 
is  a  necessity  to  live  of  love.  The  vow 
of  virginity  that  you  have  made,  is  none 
other  than  the  vow  of  love,  which  obliges 
you  by  your  state,  by  your  vocation  to  love. 
The  other  vows  are  a  profession  of  the 
evangelical  virtues;  but  by  the  .vow  of  vir- 
ginity, you  say  to  God:  "My  God,  I  vow 
to  love  Thee  perpetually,  and  none  other 
than  Thou  shall   ever  possess  my  heart.  " 

How  beautiful  is  this  vow  which  gives 
heart  and  love  to  God  alone!  In  the  early 
days  of  the  Church,  before  there  were  any 
monasteries,  it  was  the  only  vow  made,  and 


THE     VIRGINAL     LOVE     OF     JESUS       517 

by  it  virgins  were  religious  in  the  world. 
They  continued  to  dwell  in  their  families, 
but  they  were  considered  a  sacred  Order 
of  the  Church,  an  eminent  Order,  which 
Saint  Paul  and  the  Fathers  exalt  by  the 
most  magnificent  eulogiums.  Nothing  is  so 
beautiful  as  the  prayers  of  the  consecration 
of  a  virgin,  handed  down  to  us  from  the 
Apostolic    age  1 

This  vow  by  itself  alone  consecrates  to 
God.  It  separates  from  the  common,  com- 
municates a  sacred  dignity.  Like  the  priest 
and  the  chalice  of  the  Holy  Sacrifice,  the 
virgin  is  a  sacred  thing.  Her  vow  takes 
the  place  of  the  holy  anointing.  This  vow 
consecrates  the  virgin  to  Jesus  Christ  as 
His  spouse.  It  is  the  contract  of  an  eternaji 
alliance  with  Him.  For  the  woman,  it  takes 
the  place  of  the  sacerdotal  consecration  which 
devotes  the  Levite  to  Our  Lord  as  His 
eternal   minister. 

Ah,  well  I  you  have  made  this  beautiful  vow. 
Its  nobility  springs  from  this  that  it  has  its 
seat  in  the  heart,  and  gives  its  love  and  affec- 
tion to  Jesus  Christ.    It  is  a  vow  of  absolute 


518       THE    VIRGINAL     LOVE     OF     JESUS 

and  irrevocable  love,  which  obliges  you  to 
love  Our  God  above  all  others,  entirely  and 
in  a  virginal  manner.  The  vows  of  obedience 
and  poverty  are  the  way  of  merit;  but  the 
vow  of  virginity  is  the  way  of  love  and 
excellence,  for  it  elevates  those  that  make 
it  to  the  honor  of  being  truly  the  spouses 
of    Jesus    Christ. 

Our  Lord  loves  this  vow.  He  is  jealous 
of  it.  I  think,  indeed,  it  is  the  vow  of 
the  he.art  and  of  love.  You  ought,  then,  to 
love  it  in  a  special  manner  and  without 
division.  You  are  no  longer  free  as  regards 
your  heart  and  its  affections,  all  belong 
to  your  Divine  Spouse.  Ah!  do  not  mingle 
the  love  of  creatures  with  His  love.  That 
would    be    an    abominable    profanation. 

As  the  unfaithful  spouse  is  branded  for- 
ever with  the  name  of  adulteress,  the  Church 
stamps  the  virgin  who  violates  her  vow  of 
virginity  with  still  more  shameful  disgrace. 
She  calls  it  sacrilege.  It  is  the  name  that 
she  gives  to  those  that  profane  the  sacred 
vessels,  the  holy  temple,  the  Sacred  Hosts, 
The  unfaithful  virgin,  also,  profanes  a  thing 


THE     VIRGINAL  .  LOVE     OF     JESUS        519 

that  is"  holy  and  consecrated  to  Jesus  Christ. 
Our  Lord  had  reserved  her  for  Himself. 
He  wished  her  to  be  His,  and  His  alone. 
He  wanted  her  whole  heart,  her  whole  love. 
She  profaned  the  sacred  vessel  of  Jesus  Christ, 
His  ciborium,  and  His  host! 

You  must,  then,  love  Our  Lord  as  faithful 
spouses,  you  must  ♦submit  to  all  His  rights. 
You  are  bound  forever,  and  you  will  be 
crowned  under  the  title  of  faithful  virgins, 
or    condenmed    as    sacrilegious    virgins. 

You  have  vowed  and  consecrated  your- 
selves. You  must,  moreover,  be  immolated 
to  Our  Lord.  What  do  I  mean  by  this? 
That  you  must  be  immolated  to  the  love 
of  your  Spouse,  and  live  for  Him  in  continual 
sacrifice.  Your  vow,  by  constituting  you  a 
sacred  t.hing,  marks  you  out  for  sacrifice 
like  the  victims  that  are  chosen  young,  pure, 
and  without  blemish,  and  are  destined  to 
be  immolated  to  the  Lord  from  the  moment 
they    are    separated    from    the   profane. 

Love  is  crucifying.  It  imitiolates.  More- 
over, it  is  to  the  Crucified  Spouse  that  you 
are   united.    Ought   not   the   spouse   to   share 


520       THE     VIRGINAL     LOVE     OF     JESUS 

the  State  of  her  Spouse?  It  is  not  yet  time 
to  enjoy  the  happiness  of  your  union.  As 
long  as  you  are '  on  earth,  you  are  only 
the  betrothed  of  Jesus  Christ.  You  belong- 
to  Him,  you  are  no  longer  free,  but  the 
plenitude  of  union  and  His  delights  are  for 
heaven.  In  the  meantime,  Our  Lord  will 
visit  you  from  time  to -time,  and  He  will 
send  His  angels  to  console  you,  but  you 
must    not    expect    present    enjoyment. 

This  is  the  time  to  perfect  yourselves,  to 
adorn  yourselves  with  virtues  for  the  day 
of  your  eternal  nuptials.  Our  Lord  wants 
to  see  in  you  wise  and  prudent  virgins  who 
fill  their  lamps  witli  oil,  and  who  watch 
for  the  coming  of  the  Spouse.  The  virtues 
of  Our  L-ord  are  not  acquired  all  at  once. 
Their  practice  costs.  Devote  yourselves  to 
them  without  fear,  with  courage  and  perse- 
verance. They  must  be  your  adornment  on 
the  day  on  which  He  will  present  you  to 
His  Father  for  the  celebration  of  the  heaven- 
ly nuptials  in  Paradise  in  presence  of  His 
angels. 

Recall,   however,   that,   on  account  of  your 


THE     VIRGINAL     LOVE     OF     JESUS        521 

title  of  spouses,  you  are  bound  to  devote 
yourselves  through  love  to  the  practice  of 
the  virtues,  that  all  you  do  ought  to  prove 
this  love  to  your  Spouse,  and  that  you 
^should  recoil  from  no  sacrifice  for  Him. 
Let  your  love  be  sovereign,  absolute,  u- 
nique,  and  for  nothing  but  Him.  Neither  self 
nor.  any  creature  has  a  right  outside  of 
Him.  What!  you  would  make  yourself  the 
end  of  that  heart  which  Our  Lord  ennobles 
by  His  grace,  which  He  fills  with  His  love, 
in  order  to  be  the  only  and  sovereign  object 
of   it? 

Will  you  make  any  creature  whatsoejver 
the  end  of  that  heart  by  stealing  it  from 
Him  to  whom  it  belongs?  God  preserve  you 
from  that!  In  the  religious  life,  above  all, 
you  ought  to  love-  one  another.  You  form 
a  circle  around  Our  Lord,  but  He  is  to 
be  the  only  centre  of  it  Let  all  its  rays 
converge  straight  to  Him.  Woe  to  you,  if 
you  do  not  love  Our  Lord,  or  if  you  do 
not  love  Him  alone! 

But  how  ought  you  to  love  Him?  You 
ought  to  love   Him  as   He   loves  you.    Love 


522       THE     VIRGINAL     LOVE     OF     JESUS 

calls  for  equality,  reciprocity.  Now,  Our 
Lord  loves  you  as  He  loves  His  Father, 
that  is,  just  as  Jesus  loves  His  Father  by 
a  continual  reference  of  all  that  He  is,  of 
all  that  He  does  to  His  glory  and  service, 
so  Our  Lord  has  a  constant  relation  of 
love  and  grace  toward  you.  His  Heart,  His 
spirit,  His  merits  are  all  yours.  He  loves 
you  with  His  whole  being,  making  you  the 
end  of  His  thoughts,  His  love,  of  all  His 
actions    and    sufferings. 

Behold,  then,  how  you  ought  to  love  Him 
by  referring  all  that  you  are,  all  that  you 
have,  your  merits  and  sufferings,  your  en- 
tire life  to  Him,  by  love.  Give  Him  your 
mind,  in  order  to  think  only  of  Him  and 
for  Him;  your  will,  that  it  may  be  happy 
in  obeying  and  serving  Him  in  all  that 
He  wills;  your  body,  that  He  may  reproduce 
in  it  His  virtues  and  His  meritorious  suffer- 
ings. Establish  and  preserve  this  constant 
relation  between  your  faculties  and  His 
faculties,  your  mind  and  His  mind,  your 
heart  and  His  Heart,  your  body  and  His 
Body,  in  a  word,  between  your  whole  being 


THE     VIRGINAL     LOVE     OF     JESUS        523 

and  His  whole  Being.  In  this  way,  will  you 
love  as  you  are  loved. 

Our  Lord  says  to  you:  "I  am  thinking 
of  you  constantly.  Why  will  you  not  think 
constantly  of  Me? 

"  My  Heart  desires  only  to  do  you  good, 
to-  fill  you  with  love.  Why  does  your  heart 
not  make  some  return  to  Me  by  continual, 
homage  of  gratitude  and  love? 

"  I  give  you  My  Body.  I  immolate  It 
daily  for  you  in  sacrifice,  and  I  even  give 
It  to  you  to  eat,  so  that  It  becomes  your 
Victim,  your  Food.  Why  will  you  not  con- 
secrate all  your  senses  and  your  body  to 
suffer  with  me  and  repair  sin,  which  offends 
My    Father    and    wounds    My    Heart?" 

Oh,  how  Our  Lord  suffers  if  we  do  not 
respond  to  His  love!  He  loves  us  with,  so 
much  ardor,  with  so  strong  a  love.  Beholding 
you,  you,  poor,  little  creature,  poor  worm  of 
the  earth.  He  says  to  you:  "I  love  thee  with 
a  passionate  love.  I  love  thee,  I  am  cap- 
tivated by  thee!"  His  passion  makes  Him 
forget  His  dignity.  He  desires  a  return.  He 
demands   it,   and   He   longs   to  be   loved   by 


524       THE     VIRGINAL     LOVE     OF     JESUS 

this  worm,  as  if  such  love  were  worthy  of 
Him  and  would  make  His  happiness!  In 
human  relations,  if  an  inferior  says  to  .his 
superior:  "I  love  you,"  he  insults  him,  for 
it  is  putting  himself  on  a  level  with  him  and 
exacting  a  return.  He  has  a  right  only  to 
respect  him.  But  Our  Lord  effaces  all  dis* 
tances  of  dignity,  and  says  to  us:  "I  love 
thee,  love  Me!  " 

When  we  love  some  one,  we  want  to  see 
him,  to  look  at  him  constantly.  And  so 
Our  Lord  is  always  casting  on  you  a  glance 
of  love.  He  regards  you  with  eyes  full 
of  kindness,,  full  of  a  father's  tenderness. 
He  follows  you  everywhere.  You  are  His 
constant  thought.  Why  do  you  not  look  at 
Him?  Your  loving  eyes  ought  to  be  fixed 
upon  Our  Lord,  and  never  lose  sight  of 
Him.  If  your  bodily  eyes  are  arrested  by 
walls,  those  of  the  soul  can  behold  Him 
everywhere.  Sight  is  knowledge,  it  is  love, 
and  love  is  ever  a  painter.  It  creates  the 
object  loved,  and  constantly  places  it  before 
the  eyes. 

Our     Lord     is    always    wishing    you    well, 


THE     VIRGINAL     LOVE     OF     JESUS        525 

always  seeking"  the  occasion  to  confer  new 
benefits  upon  you.  Why  do  you  not  do 
all  through  love  for  Him?  First,  in  your 
exercises  of  piety,  but  still  more  in  your 
cell,  in  your  employments.  Why  is  not  every 
one  of  your  actions  a  homage  of  love  to 
Him? 

What  is  love,  except  a  pure  flame  that 
mounts  toward  heaven?  What  you  do  not 
for  His  love  is  mingled  with  smoke  while 
you  might  be  a  flame  bright  and  clear. 

Again,  Our  Lord  loves  you  with  an  ever 
increasing  love,  which  is  always  a  new  and 
greater  grace.  Our  Lord  varies  and  increases 
incessantly  His  gifts  of  grace, -and  ever  shows 
Himself  in  a  new  light  The  love  of  to-day 
is  greater  than  that  of  yesterday,  and  until 
the  end  of  your  life  it  will  daily  increase, 
because  every  new  grace  is  an  addition  to 
those  of  the  past.  His  love  expands  like 
the  flower,  which,  opening  under  the  ris- 
ing sun,  continues  to  unfold  until  it  is  perfect 
in  the  noonday  rays. 

You,  too,  ought  to  love  Him  ever  with 
a     new     love.    You    must    be    able    to     say 


526       THE     VIRGINAL     LOVE     OF     JESUS 

to  Him:  "I  love  Thee  to-day  more  than 
yesterday,  because  I  have  one  day  more, 
more    graces,    more    debts    of   love!" 

Pay  these  debts  by  living  of  love,  of 
gratitude,  of  homage,  by  retaining  nothing 
for  self  of  whatever  you  do. 

Personality,  the  ego,  always  remains,  you 
draw  to  self.  That  wound,  which  is  constantly 
opening  must  be  healed  by  the  fire  of  love. 

In  doing  everjting  for  Our  Lord,  you  are 
doing  nothing  extraordinary,  but  only  your 
simple  duty.  You  will  never  reach  Our 
Lord's  love  for  you.  Many  of  the  saints 
wept  at  not  being  able  to  love  Our  Lord 
enough,  and  they  cried  out :  "  Ah  I  why  have 
I  not  an  infinite  love  to  respond  to  His 
infinite  love!"  Such  tears  are  very  pleasing 
to  the  good  God.  They  are  the  desires  and 
the  impotence  of  love.  It  is  the  little  creature 
holding  out  its  arms  to  the  Creator  from 
the  river  of  time,  longing  to  embrace  Him. 
And  God  responds :  "  I  love  thee,  poor  little 
worm  of   the   earth!" 

Ah,  then,  will  you  love  Our  Lord?  Give 
yourself  to  Him  and  live  for  Him  by  love, 


THE    VIRGINAL     LOVE     OF     JESUS       527 

as  He  lives  for  you.  Seek  in  your  heart 
all  that  can  give  Him  mosf  pleasure,  as 
He  does  for  you.  Is  this  perfection?  No,  it 
is  only  the  beginning,  and  your  duty  as 
a  child.  There  cannot  be  pride  in  presum- 
ing to  act  in  this  way.  Who  can  be  proud 
when    looking    at    Our    Lord? 

Renew  your  vow  of  virginity.  It  is  your 
vow  of  love.  The  others  are  the  fruit  of 
your  life,  but  this  is  your  flower.  Renew 
it  often.  Say :  "  My  God,  I  consecrate  my- 
self to  Thee  in  order  to  love  Thee  chastely, 
in  order  to  love  Thee^— how  shall  I  say? 
—  with  a  love  of  blood,  with  an  eternal 
love! " 


CONFERENCE 


ON   CONFESSION. 


ONFESSION  is  the  last  plank  of  salvation 
that  God  gives  us  amid  the  tempests 
of  this  wicked  world.  To  render  it  useless 
is  infallibly  to  ruin  one's  self,  since  there 
is  no  other  means  of  pardon.  There  remains, 
indeed,  the  act  of  perfect  love  which  jus 
tifies,  but  it  must  contain  also  the  desire 
of  confession.  Take  great  care,  then,  to  shun 
whatever  could  injure  the  good  of  confession, 
and  practise  what  assures  to  it  utility  and 
success. 

In  the  first  place,  rigorously  shun  all 
natural  and  human  relations  with  the  confess- 
or during  the  dread  action  of  confession. 
He  is  no  longer  a  man^  he  is  Jesus  Christ 
on    His    tribunal    of    justice    and    mercy. 

It  is  the  Saviour  Himself  who  communicates 
to  him  by  the  Sacrament  of  Order  this 
power,  formidable  and  consoling  at  the  same 
time.of  doing  what  He  Himself  does.  "What 
soever  sins  you  shall  loose  upon  earth  shall 


CONFERENCE   ON    CONFESSION  529 

be  loosed  in  heaven,  and  whatsoever  sins 
you  shall  bind  upon  earth  shall  be  bound 
in  heaven.  " 

Thus  the  priest's  judgment  is  the  rule  of  the 
judgment  of  God.  His  sentence  precedes  that 
of  Heaven.  It  is  the  law  that  Jesus  Christ 
has  established,  that  He  respects  and  follows. 

The  confessor  is,  then,  the  minis^ter  of 
God's  justice,  the  guardian  of  the  divine 
law.  He  must  assure  its  execution  and 
punish  the  infraction  of  it  under  pain  of 
being  an  unfaithful  minister,  and  of  taking 
in  purgatory  or  in  hell  the  place  of  the 
guilty  unjustly  absolved. 

He  has  to  judge.  He  ought,  then,  to 
know  the  nature  and  the  number  of  our 
faults;  hence,  the  necessity  for  sincere  and 
entire  accusation  on  the  par't  of  the  penitent.. 
Go  to  him,  then,  in  the  truth  and  sincerity 
of    your    conscience. 

But  the  confessor  is,  above  all,  the  minister 
of  mercy.  He  is  a  father,  as  well  as  a 
judge,  the  divine  physician  of  our  souls, 
the  good  Samaritan  of  our  wounds.  Jesus 
has    placed   in   his   hands   all   the   graces    of 


530  CONFERENCE   ON    CONFESSION 

Redemption.  He  has  given  him  power  to 
restore  life  to  our  souls.  Go  to  him,  there- 
fore,  with   the   confidence   of  faith. 

Again,  avoid  in  confession,  all  that  is  for- 
eign to  this  great  action,  because  you  lose 
sight  of  the  chief  end  and  expose  yourself 
to  failing  in  respect  toward  the  Sacrament, 
to  diminishing,  to  losing  contrition.  This  is 
the  danger  of  frequent  confessions.  They 
commence  with  God  and  often  end  with 
the  creature,  or  fall  into  mere  trifling.  Shun 
that   as   you    would   poison. 

Carefully  avoid  every  discussion,  every 
useless  ,  explanation,  because  you  ought  nei- 
ther to  lose  your  own  time  nor  uselessly 
take  up  that  of  the  priest,  which  is  so  very 
precious.  Another  reason  is  that  what  is  use- 
less is  often  dangerous  and  may  easily  be- 
come culpable.  It  is  rare,  indeed,  that  vanity 
or  some  research  of  self-love  is  not  the 
principle  of  it. 

See  Magdalen.  By  her  position  at  the 
feet  of  the  Saviour,  note  how  entirely  she 
is  absorbed  in  her  confession;  and  in  her 
contrition,  by  the  tears  of  her  heart. 


CONFERENCE   ON   CONFESSION  531 

Consider  the  poor  publican  humble  and 
humiliated  in  the  lower  part  of  the  Temple. 
He  speaks  only  of  his  sins  to  the  Divine 
Mercy,  paying  no  attention  to  what  is  going 
on  around  him  nor  to  the  words  of  the 
Pharisee. 

Ah!  if  people  thought  seriously  that  the 
confession  they  are  about  to  make,  or  are 
making  at  that  very  moment,  may  decide 
their  eternity,  that  it  may  be  the  last  ab- 
solution they  shall  receive,  the  last  confession 
before    death,    they    would    make    it    better  1 

If  we  would  seriously  consider  the  malice 
and  the  number  of  .our  sins  in  presence 
of-  the  sufferings  and  humiliations  of  the 
Saviour  dying  on  the  Cross  for  us,  our 
heart  would  not  be  so  hard  and,  above  all, 
so    distracted. 

If  our  love  for  Jesus  Christ  were  more 
heartfelt,  more  absorbing,  how  much  more 
refined  it  would  be! 

To  confess  all,  it  is  necessary  to  examine 
one's  self  well.  Now,  a  good  examen  calls 
for   three    conditions; 

1.    We  should   ask   God   for  the   grace   to 


532  CONFERENCE    ON    CONFESSION 

know  ourseves  such  as  we  are  in  His  eyes; 
then  we  should  invoke  the  help  of  the  Most 
Holy  Virgin  and  of  our  good  angel,  the 
witness    of   all    our   actions. 

2.  The  search  for  our  sins.  The  simplest 
way  to  do  this,  is  attentively  to  pass  in 
review  the  employments  of  the  day  from 
the  moment  of  awaking  till  evening,  running 
through  successively  each  duty  of  the  day, 
and  the  way  in  which  it  was  accomplished. 
As  for  extraordinary  faults,  they  leave,  as 
a  rule,  a  sufficient  impression  so  that  one 
will  have  no  need  to  seek  them  with  inquie- 
tude. 

It  is  neither  a  simple  nor  a  fruitful  means 
to  makes  one's  examen  by  seeking  in  what 
we  have  failed  in  all  our  thoughts,  words, 
and  actions,  without  following  any  daily 
order.  We  lose  ourselves  in  so  vast  a  field, 
and  an  effort  of  the  memory,  which  fatigues 
the  mind  to  the  detriment  of  compunction, 
is  necessary  for  it. 

Do  not  make  it  in  that  way.  First,  examine 
exterior  sins.  Interior  ones  may  be  supposed 
from  them.    Examine  them  in  yourself,  recall- 


CONFERENCE   ON   CONFESSION     o    533 

ing  your  daily  duties  toward  God,  namely, 
what  you  owe  to  piety,  to  the  Sacraments, 
to  your  vows,  to  the  duties  of  your  state; 
relations  of  respect  and  obedience  to  Supe- 
riors, of  gentleness  and  charity  toward  the 
neighbor,  of  humility  and  mortification  to- 
ward yourself. 

As  for  temptations,  do  not  judge  them 
by  their  impression,  nor  by  the  trouble  into 
which  they  throw  you,  nor  by  their  duration. 
Sin  begins  only  at  the  light,  or  at  J:he  cry 
of  conscience  warned  and  enlightened,  and 
not  in  sleep  or  in  the  distraction  of  the 
will. 

3.  Give  more  time  to  contrition  than  to 
the  examen.  The  examen  shows  the  wound, 
contrition  is  the  remedy.  Excite  yourself  to 
contrition  not  so  much  by  considerations  of 
the  mind  as  by  affection  of  heart.  After 
that  think  of  your  obligations  as  a  Chris- 
tian, a  religious,  an  adoratrice.  As  a  Chrb- 
tian,  behold  Jesus  humiliated,  sad,  and  suffer- 
ing in  you,  owing  to  your  venial  sins; 
God  preserve  you  from  crucifying  and  putting 
Him     to     death     in    your    body     and     soul 


534  CONFERENCE   ON    CONFESSION 

by  mortal  sin!  As  a  religious,  see  the  pain 
you  have  given  by  your  infidelities  of  heart 
to  your  Divine  Spouse  Jesus  who  loves  you 
with  so  much  tenderness.  As  adoratrice,  see 
the  weakness  and  malice  of  your  soul, 
which  have  had,  the  power  to  paralyze  the 
special  graces,  the  very  particular  love  that 
Jesus  testifies  for  you,  and  perhaps,  td  stifle 
and    destroy    it. 

See  the  Most  Blessed  Virgin  holding  in 
her  arms  the  Body  of  Jesus  crucified  and 
bruised  by  your  sins.  Kiss  those  wounds  of 
love,  weep  upon  His  Heart,  and  then  go 
and  kneel  in  humble  penitence  at  the  feet 
of  the  priest. 

Remember,  also,  that  God  pardons  only 
the  contrite  and  humble  heart,  and  that  the 
most  powerful  motive  for  contrition  is  that 
of  divine  love,  regret  for  having  offended 
Him  who  has  loved  us  so  much.  It  ought 
to  make  the  smallest  offence  the  greatest 
evil  in  our  eyes,  since  it  wounds  a  God 
infinitely  good  and  amiable. 

In  the  act  of  confessing,  observe  three 
duties : 


CONFERENCB  ON    CONFESSION  535 

1.  Tell  your  sins  in  all  simplicity,  confess- 
ing them  as  you  know  them  and  are  affected 
by  them  at  the  moment. 

2.  Accuse  yourself  with  propriety,  in  be- 
coming words,  through  respect  for  the  priest 
and  for  yourself.  Enter  into  no  detail  upon 
the  way  in  which  you  committed  the  sin. 
The  way  falls  not  under  the  law  of  accusa- 
tion. It  is  even  prohibited  when  there  is 
question  of  sins  against  chastity.  Tell  the 
nature  of  sins  of  thought  without  recounting 
them  in  detail,  without  explaining  them, 
which  is  never  obligatory.  Mention  your  sins 
of  words,  but  without  repeating  thei  words. 
Be  satisfied  with  mentioning  their  species, 
namely,  against  charity,  or  authority,  or 
chastity.  As  to  sins  of  act,  tell  the  nature 
of  the  sin,  its  gricvousness.  In  sins  of 
omission,  state  what  duty  you  have  omitted. 

3.  Accuse  yourself  with  humility,  as  .a 
guilty  man  who  tells  his  fault  to  Him  who 
already  knows  it  better  than  he  does  him- 
self, but  who  wishes  by  making  him  repeat 
it  to  test  his  sincerity  and  repentance.  Let 
your   humility   consist    in   seeing  and    telling 


536  CONFERENCE   ON    CONFESSION 

your  faults  truthfully,  and  not  exaggerating 
them.  Exaggeration  is  oft^n  the  fruit  either 
of  sloth  which  does  not  want  the  trouble 
of  examining,  or  of  tepidity  which  clothes 
itself   with   false   contrition. 

Carefully  distinguish  sin  from  imperfection. 
Sin  is  a  positive  act  of  the  will;  imper- 
fection is  the  product  of  our  misery,  of  our 
weakness.  It  is  more  an  act  of  the  imagina- 
tion than  of  reason,  more  a  foolish  and 
air>'  vapor  of  the  mind  than  malice  of  the 
heart,  rather  sloth  of  the  senses  than  refusal 
of  the  will. 

Again,  in  accusing  yourself,  shun  inquietude 
and  eagerness,  which  diminish  the  attention 
and  confidence  of  the  soul,  by  enclosing 
its  liberty  of  action  in  the  nets  and  fetter? 
of  fear  and  doubt.  When,  therefore,  you 
are  disquieted  and  uncertain  about  some 
fault,  you  should  lay  it  before  the  con- 
fessor to  get  counsel,  and  not  confess  as 
a  real  fault  that  which  is  often  no  fault 
at  all.  He  will  tell  you  that  it  would  be 
better  sometimes  to  pass  entirely  over  certain 
troubles    than    to    tell    them     through    fear 


CONFERENCE   ON   CONFESSION  537 

Otherwise  they  fill  the  soul  with  those  vain 
apprehensions  which  produce  scruples  and 
<iistress. 

Again,  you  are  not  obliged,  and  you 
ought  not,  in  accusing  yourself  of  a  sin 
of  which  your  confessor  personally  may 
have  been  the  cause  or  the  object,  mention 
that  personal  circumstance  to  him.  Propriety, 
as  well  as  prudence,  demands  its  suppression, 
and  the  law  of  integrity  of  accusation  does 
not    oblige   to   it. 

Vou  should  know  distinctly  that  the  ac- 
cusation of  venial  sins  is  not  like  that  of 
mortal  sins.  Mortal  sins  ought  to  be  declared 
in  confession  with  number,  kind,  and  the 
circumstances  tha«-  change  theijr  species  or 
notably  'aggravate  them.  With  venial  sins, 
It  IS  not  so.  A  pious  soul  who  will  in 
good  faith  declare  only  three  or  four,  but 
with  regret  that  implicitly  extends  to  .all 
the  others,  and  with  a  firm  purpose-  of 
amendment,  will  receive  the  remission  of  all, 
although  she  has  accused  herself  of  only 
some.  This  means  that  mortal,  sins  are  par- 
doned   only    individually,    consequently    they 


538  CONFERENCE    ON    CONFESSION 

have  to  be  declared  formally,  but  venial 
sins  collectively  with  general  and  implicit 
contrition.  It  is  like  a  bundle  of  weeds,  of 
which  we  see  only  those  on  the  surface, 
and  which  we  throw  into  the  fire  to  be 
burned  altogether,  those  we  do  not  see,  as 
well    as    those   we   do   see. 

It  is,  however,  as  says  the  Council  of 
Trent,  a  laudable  and  salutary  custom  to 
confess  all  the  venial  sins  that  we  remember. 
But  what  I  wish  is  that  you  do  not  go 
too  much  into  detail,  be  not  too  punctilious 
ill  your  accusations.  God  does  not  exact 
so  rigorous  an  examen.  It  is  that  rigor  which 
exposes  you  to  the  loss  of  liberty  and^peace 
of  mind,  of  sweet  and  gentle  piety  of  heart. 

We  remark  that  those  who  give  them- 
selves much  trouble  in  preparing  and  con 
fessing,  do  not  ordinarily  amend  their  faults. 
They  follow  their  own  ideas  and  their  old 
routine,  in  spite  of  all  that  is  said  to  them. 
One  might  say  that  they  confess  only  to 
relieve  th^ir  own  disordered  '  mind,  which 
has  formed  this  need  of  pouring  itself  out. 
They    would    do    far    better   to    believe   their 


CONFERENCE   ON    CONFESSION  539 

confessor,,  to  speak  less,  and  to  amend  their 
ways. 

Shun  a  second  defect,  namely  lay  aside 
all  those  general  and  prolix  accusations  which 
determine  nothing.  They  are  useless,  since 
they  submit  no  definite  sm  to  the  judgment 
of  the  confessor.  Confession  is  like  the 
prayer  ol"  which  Our  Lord  speaks, — the  short 
er    It    is,    the    more    frequently    the    better. 

Lastly,  when  you  have  finished  your  ac- 
cusation, do  not  seek  for  more  sins,  as 
if  you  had  forgotten  something.  Even  if  one 
should  present  itself  with  doubt  and  trouble, 
but  uncertain,  discard  it.  You  have  already 
said  what  your  conscientious  examen  has 
shown  you.  Now  is  the  moment  to  listen 
in  silence  and  with  docility  to  what  the  priest, 
in    the    name    of   Jesus    Christ,    says    to   you 

In  leaving  the  confessional,  im.ag.ne  yourself 
going  out  from  holy  Baptism,  entirely  cleans 
ed  and  adorned  with  the  Blood  of  Our 
Lord-  Take  care  not  to  think  over  your 
accusation.  If  it  recurs  to  your  memory, 
banish  it  as  a  dangerous  temptation.  All 
is  pardoned.    Magdalen  did  not  rehearse  her 


540  CONFERENCE    ON    CONFESSION 


sins  in  detail,  for  she  had  accused  herself 
of  them  all  in  her  penitent  love.  All  were 
truly    forgiven    her. 

Joyfully  thank  Our  Lord  tor  having  par 
doned  you,  for  having  given  you  new  life. 
Share  the  joy  of  a  man  drawn  from  an 
abyss,  whose  wounds  have  been  closed,  and 
who  now  walks  on  full  of  health  and  vigor 

Recall  the  good  advice  you  have  received, 
and  renew  the  resolutions  of  amendment  tha^ 
you  have  formed.  Ask  God  through  the  help 
of  Mary,  to  be  faiihfuL  and  perform  the 
penance    that    has    been    imposed    on   you. 

Still  another  word  of  advice.  As  purity 
of  conscience  is  the  nuptial  robs  necessary 
for  the  service  of  the  Heivenly  Spouse,  in 
order  to  keep  it  unsullied,  approach  the 
tribunal    of    penance    every    eight    days. 

In  order  to  supply  for  the  accusations 
made  without  true  contrition,  also  to  humble 
self  and  know  self  better,  it  as  good  to 
make  a  monthly  review,  and  every  year  an 
annual   review  of  all   one's  faults. 

To  prepare  for  confession,  to  examine  one's 
self  and  make  acts   of  contrition,   a  quarter 


CONFERENCE  ON   CONFESSION  541 

of  an  hour  is  not  too  much  to  devote  to 
this  exercise.  Give  the  same  t.me  after  con- 
fession to  renew  contrition,  to  insist  upon 
the  firm  purpose  of  amendment,  and  to 
make  acts  of  sorrow  based  upon  that  infinite 
love,  that  unlimited  mercy,  wh.ch  has  again 
pardoned  and  restored  hfe,  honor,  and  joy 
of    heart 

When  one  confesses  very  frequently,  con 
fession  ought  to  be  surrounded  by  serious 
guarantees,  above  all,  by  those  that  assure 
contrition.  Without  that,  one  falls  into  rou- 
tme,  which  annuls  the  good  effects  of  this 
Sacrament    of    mercy    and    salvatioa 


m 


^i2.*^^!&*^!&i&5afe!i&«&5a&«&5SaJ&a^s£»;&5a&&^ 


PERSONALITY  to  JESUS. 


^  The  GIFT  of  one's  ^ 


Y  the  religious  profession,  you  have 
given  to  God  what  belongs  to  you 
but  you  have  not  given,  at  least  m  an 
expressed  manner,  your  own  being,  your 
personality. 

Personality  is  the  being  itself,  the  principle 
of  life,  of  action.  It  is  what  consfitutes  you 
a  human  and  individual  person,  that  which 
distinguishes  you  from  every  other  person, 
and  establishes  you  in  the  highest  perfection 
of  nature.  It  is  the  personality  which  pos- 
sesses in  you  the  soul  and  the  body,  the 
faculties  and  the  senses;  which  makes  them 
act  and  which  is  responsible  for  their  acts, 
which  imparts  to  them  their  quality  of  hu- 
m.m  acts.  It  is  that  wh.ch  receives,  also, 
all  that  is  referred  to  you,  as  affection, 
praise,  and  every  quality  of  body  and  mind, 
for  It  IS  not  your  body  nor  your  mind 
precisely  that  people  want  to  love  and  praise, 
but    yoii,    the    person    who    is    clothed    with 


THE   GIFT  OF  ONE'S   PERSONALITY  .    543 

these  gifts  and  who,  indeed,  makes  good  use 
of    them. 

Now,  tlie  rehgious  profession,  does  not  ex 
plicitly  emit  the  gift  of  personality.  By  the 
vow  of  poverty,  you  give  your  goods,  by 
that  of  virginity,  your  heart;  and  your  wilL, 
by  the  vow  of  obedience.  Without  doubt,  if 
taken  m  their  full  extent,  even  interior  and 
spiritual,  these  vows  embrace  you  completely, 
and,  consecrate  you  entirely  to  God;  for 
Saint  Thomas  teaches  that  the  religious  pro 
fession  is  m  itself  a  holocaust  of  the  whole 
man,  and  consequently,  of  his  being  and 
personality    itself 

But  in  order  to  give  you  an  easier  means 
to  practise  your  vows  in  this  spirit  of  ho 
locaust,  which  <is  true  adoration,  I  propose 
to  you  now  to  make  to  Our  Lord  a  formal 
and  explicit  gift  of  yourself  and  your  per- 
sonality. This  gift  will  add  no  exterior  obli- 
gation to  those  of  your  three  vows.  But  it 
will  strengthen  them  more  perfectly,  and 
make  you  practise  them  according  to  the  true 
spirit  of  your  vocation,  for  the  Eucharist  is 
the    Gift 


544      THE  GIFT  OF  ONE  S  PERSONALITY 

You  are  not  only  spouses,  but  adoratrices 
and  servants  of  Our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  The 
property  of  the  servant  is  to  lose  his  name, 
and  the  slave  formerly  lost  even  all  propriety 
over  himself,  his  actions,  his  labors,  h;s  life. 
Your  name  of  servants  signifies  slaves  of 
love.  By  this  act,  you  will  become  nothing 
to  yourselves,  and  Jesus  Christ  will  enter  into 
possession  of  you. 

But  to  do  that,  would  be  self-annihilation 
you  say.  I  should  appear  senseless. — Yes, 
m  the  eyes  of  men,  but  in  the  eyes  of  God 
you    would    be    only    generous    in    love. 

The  virtue  of  this  gift  is  that  you  give 
yourself  to  Our  Lord  through  love  for  Him, 
in  total  forgetfulness  of  self,  in  order  to 
acknowledge  and  adore  His  sovereign  do- 
minion over  you.  It  is  He,  His  rights,  His 
love,  His  glory  that  you  look  at  in  it,  before 
and  above  all  else,  and  not  His  gifts  nor 
His  personal  interests.  His  gifts  of  grace, 
you  demand  humbly,  tor  without  them  you 
can  do  nothing;  and  far  from  renouncing 
the  recompense,  you  know  that  this  gift  of 
love  is  already  an  immense  merit  for  heaven 


THE  GIFT  OF  ONE'S  PERSONALITY       545 

But  above  all  these  motives,  rises  that  of  the 
love  that  God  deserves  for  Himself,  (and 
of  the  rights  His  infinite  love  creates  for  Hinr; 
over  every  creature,  and  over  you  in  partic- 
ular. This  view  absorbs  you,  is  sufficient 
for  you.  You  give  yourself  in  order  to  re- 
turn love  for  love,  and  the  first  reward  thai 
you  desire  is  that  God  may  be  served,  loved, 
and  adored,  and  that  He  may  reign  entirely 
over    you    by    your    own    annihilation. 

I  do  not  say  that  you  will  be  able  to 
establish  yourself  in  a  state  of  pure  love, 
so  that  you  will  never  leave  it,  or  that  you 
ought  to  renounce  acts  of  the  other  virtues 
No,  far  from  me  this  thought,  condemnable 
and  condemned,  because  it  is  fahc  and 
impossible  to  realize  here  below  I  But  you 
ought  to  aim  at  practising,  as  far  as  possible, 
all  the  virtues  in  this  spirit  of  gift,  of  love, 
for  it  is,  above  all,  a  direction  of  the  in- 
tention, and  not  a  multiplication  of  new 
works  and   duties. 

The  religious  life  is  a  gift,  jt  is  true, 
and  it  is,  after  all,  for  God,  that  one  vpws 
himself   to  it;    but   it   offers   for  heaven   and 


546       THE  GIFT  OF  ONE'S  PERSONALITY 

for  the  present  moment  such  returns  that 
they  alone  should  be  a  sufficient  attraction 
You  renounce  family  joys,  but  religion  returns 
you  a  hundredfold,  father,  mother,  brothers, 
sisters.  You  renounce  temporal  goods,  but 
religion  gives  you  spiritual  ones.  You  re- 
nounce the  con4uct  of  yourself,  but  you  find  a 
sure  way  already  traced  out  and  devout 
guides. 

Certainly,  these  are  profits  that  compensate 
tor  some  sacrifices;  and  to  become  a  relig- 
ious for  these  gains  alone,  which  follow 
on    the    gain    of    heaven,    is    very   legitimate. 

But  without  rejecting  such  advantages,  do 
you  wish  to  sanctify  your  vows  by  making 
them  a  true  holocaust.^  Do  you  wish  to  elevate 
their  intention  even  to  the  perfection  of  the 
purest  love?  Join  thereto  the  gift  of  self 
Here  you  give  only  to  give,,  without  desir 
mg  even  to  think  of  return,  simply  beciuse 
the  life  of  love  is  to  give,  to  live  vowed,  given, 
devoted. 

And  then,  each  vow  cuts  off  only  one 
branch  ot  your  being,  ^ves  only  one  part 
of    your    life,    but    love    desires    to    surrender 


THE  GIFT  OF  ONE'S  PERSONALITY       547 

die  trunk,  the  being  itself  Ah,  well!  by  the 
gift  of  self  you  go  eveu  to  the  root  of 
your  being,  you  totally  renounce  self,  you 
no.  longer  morally  exist  in  your  own  eyes, 
and  you  should  cease  to  exist  ia  the  eyes 
of  others,  by  never  making  self  the  end 
either  of  yourself  or  of  them.  You  sever 
every  relation  of  friendship  and  affection 
of  which  you  might  be  the  end,  either  with 
your  Sisters  or  with  those  whom  you  love 
in  God.  Our  Lord,  whom  you  have  chosen 
to  replace  your  Ego,  becomes  the  chief  end 
and  the  absolute  possessor  of  your  works, 
your  sufferings,  and  your  merits.  Henceforth, 
He  alone  must  live  and  rule  ,in  you.  He 
is  the  Master,  He  your  Ego,  He  your 
Person. 

No  longer  must  you  receive  anything  for 
yourself  personally,  neither  praise  nor  affec- 
tion. You  are  no  longer  mistress  in  your 
own  house,  and  whatever  you  might  receive 
would  be  stolen  from  Our  .Lord,  since  you 
have  bound  yourself  entirely   to  Him. 

When  people  visit  a  house,  they  ask  to 
see    the    master,    and    not    the    domestics.     It 


548      THE  GIFT  OF  ONE'S  PERSONALITY 

they  make  a  mistake  and  salute  the  servant, 
oughl  she  not  to  say:  "You  mistake.  I 
am  nobody  here.  I  shall  call  my  master"? 
in  the  same  way  you  will  be  no  longer 
anything,  you  will  receive  nothing,  you  will 
act  no  longer  for  yourself,  but  for  Our 
Lord.     In  everything  there  shall  be  only  He. 

The  slave  does  not  draw  up  acts  of  own- 
ership, he  has  no  signature.  Well,  you  also 
will  no  longer  do  anything  of  yourse  vej, 
u"hder  your  own  personal  inspiration,  but 
you  wDl  wait  until  Our  Lord  orders  you 
to  act.  You  will  remam  in  perfect  dependence 
on  and  in  expectation  of  His  grace  and 
of  the  sign  of  His  will  to  accomplish  it  m 
all  things.  You  will  do  nothing  if  it  orders 
you  to  do  nothing,  even  were  you  to  see 
the  best  chances  of  success  and  the  most 
encouraging  inducements  to  labor  for  His 
glory.  Wait  until  He  moves  you  just  as 
one's  personality  makes  the  faculties  and  the 
members  act.  and  the  latter  give  movemem 
to    inanimate    instruments. 

You  will  never  again  say  'I  want,  I 
do  not  want,  "  for  the  ego  is  no  other  thing 


THE   GIFT  OF  ONE'S   PERSONALITY       549 

than  personality,  and  the  will  is  its  chief 
organ.  Let  Our  Lord  alone  will  in  you.  If  in 
spoken  language  you  cannot  altogether  re- 
nounce this  mode  of  speaking,  do  not  le.t 
the  interior  respond  to  it,  and  maintain  your 
self  in  the  most  complete  submission  before 
Our    Lord. 

No  more  personal  and  human  motives  m 
anything!  You  will  love  the  servants  of  God 
and  your  Sisters,  because  Our  Lord  love? 
them,  and  because  they,  too,  love  Him.  He 
alone  ought  to  be  your  determinant  motive, 
your  pillar  of  support,  and  your  end  for 
thinking,   judging,   willing,  and  acting 

You  will  disappear.  No  longer  wil  there 
be  any  interests  for  you,  but'  those  ,of  Jesus 
Christ.    He  alone  will  live  in  you. 

Here  ;s  your  true  grace,  the  grace  of  the 
Eucharist  Our  Lord  has  said:  ''As  My 
Father  sends  Me  and  as  J.  live  hy  Him 
and  for  Him;  that  is,  as  the  Word,  I  live 
only  of  the  life  that  the  Father  communicates 
to  Me  eternally,  an4,  as  Man,  only  of  the 
life  that  the  Word  gives  Me  in  time  by 
the  hypostatic  union;   so,   too,  he  that  eateth 


550       THE   GIFT   OF  ONE'S  PERSONALITY 

Me  shall  live  by  Me,  that  is,  I  will  ,c(>m- 
municate  to  him  My  life  of  grace  and  later 
My  life  of  glory.  I  will  become  in  him  all 
things,  for  I  will  dwell  in  him  and  I  w»ll 
change  him  into  Myself  I  will  be  his  prin 
ciple,  as  the  Father  is  My  principle.  His 
actions  willed  and  directed  by  Me,  perform- 
ed by  Me  in  him,  will  be  elevated  in  Me 
to  the  rank  of  holy  and  divine  actions 
Again,  as  I  refer  to  My  Father  aJl  the 
fruits  of  merit,  glory,  and  honor  that  the  life 
that  He  communicates  to  Me  produces,  so 
he  in  whom  I  will  abide  and  to  whom 
1  will  give  My  life,  shall  faithfully  return 
:o  Me  the  glory,  the  honor,  and  all  the 
fruits  of  his  labors  •  He  tvho  eateth  My.  Fle-sh 
and  drinlceth  My  Blood  abides  in  Me,  and 
I  in  him,  in  order  to  live  there  and  reign. 
Our  Lord  again  says  after  the  Last  Supper 
"  As  Thou  art  in  Me,  0  Father,  and  I  in 
Thee,  so  let  them  be  one  in  Us.  "  This  i*? 
that  magnificent  unity  which  is  commenced 
in  Baptism,  which  is  continued  by  the  state 
of  grace,  but  which  finds  in  the  Eucharist 
Its    aliment    and    perfeciton    here    below     It 


THE  GIFT  OF  ONE'S   PERSONALITY       551 

is  the  particular  fruit  of  the  Eucharist 
May  your  whole  life  fully  realize  this 
word  of  Saint  Paul:  "/  lice,  now  not  I. 
but  it  is  Jesus  who  livcth  in  }ne '  "  Behold 
the  perfect  gift  of  self,  the  gift  of  one'= 
persorialitv    to    Our    Lord! 


^^•i&«56  *^,a«^5&«»5fl&*fi^«3?  iS  •£•»  !i£««-«  S5S  3£*^ 


^ -\^ 

^  JESUS  and  MARY,  ^ 


MODELS  of  the  GIFT  of  SELF. 


E  have  said  that  our  personality  must 
@  be  consecrated  to  God  by  giving  to 
Him  the  ^go,  that  is  the  being, — the  Egj, 
that  is,  the  centre  of  relations,  which  receives 
praise  and  affection, — this  Ego  which  is  our 
natural  end.  By  the  making  of  the  vows 
alone,  i:  is  true,  one  gives  one's  self  to 
God;  but  I  propose  to  you  to  make  a 
more  explicit  consecration  of  yourselves  to 
Jesus  Christ,  m  virtue  of  which  you  will 
practise  your  religious  vows  and  all  the 
virtues  in  a  spirit  of  love  for  God  loved 
for  Himself,  of  total  renunciation  of  your- 
selves, and  of  offering,  sacrifice,  and  holo 
caust  of  your  very  being  to  Jesus  Christ 
living  in  you  as  your  first  principle,  and 
your    only    end    of    nature    and   grace. 

But,  you  will  say,  it  is  rvery  difficult  to 
reach  the  point  of  always  loving  Jesus  Christ 
for  Himself,  and  of  never  seeking  self  in 
anything.     That  is  true,  it  is  difficult  to  reach 


THE  MODELS  OF  THE  GIFT  OF  SELF     553 

the  perfection  of  love,  and  it  is  impossible 
always  to  act  through  actual  love;  but  what 
I  propose  to  you  is  to  give  yourselves  to 
God  by  an  act  of  love  which  embraces 
your  being  and  your  entire  life,  and  then 
to  act  as  much  as  possible  ^n  the  spirit 
of  this  gift  of  love.  There  is  a  great  dif- 
ference between  these  two  things,  the  ;pos 
sessing  the  habit  of  a  virtue  and  acting 
by  its  spirit,  or  the  actual  and  constant 
exercise  of  it  by  positive  acts. 

Thus,  your  vows  of  religion  constitute  you 
religious.  Even  when  you.  are  not  making 
formal  acts  of  poverty  or  obedience,  you 
are  still  acting  as  religious,  and  you  should 
always  act,  at  least  according  to  the  spirit 
of  those  vows.  Well,  in  the  same  way,  by 
giving  your  personality  once  for  all  to  Our 
Lord,  you  place  yourself  in  His  hands  in 
a  state  of  abandonment,  of  personal  an 
nihilation.  Henceforth,  by  virtue  of  this 
gift,  you  consider  yourself  wholly  dependent 
on  Jesus  Christ,  and  you  endeavor  to  alloA^ 
Our  Lord,  instead  of  yourselves,  to  live.  act. 
command,  and  receive  all  in  you 

The  Divine  Eucharist. 


554  JESUS    AND    MARY 

The  perfection  of  this  gift  of  self,  whieh 
will  be  the  life  and  the  perfect  reign  of 
Jesus  m  you,  is,  without  doubt,  never  at- 
tained here  below,  but  why  not  engage  one's 
self  to  aim  at  it  mcessantly?  And  as  one 
IS  not  expected  to  be  perfectly  obedient 
in  order  to  make  the  vow  of  obedience; 
as,  on  the  contrary,  jt  is  made  at  the 
commencement  of  the  religious  life,  because 
the  vow  will  give  its  own  help  and  grace, 
so  I  ask  you  to  make  to  Our  Lord  this 
gift  of  self.  You  will  practise  it  at  first 
very  imperfectly,  then  less  so,  then  better. 
It  \vill  bring  you  a  particular  grace,  which 
will  increase  by  your  faithful  correspondence 
and,  little  by  little,  you  will  acquire  the 
habit  of  no  longer  regarding  self  as  your 
principle  and  end;  but  you  will  act  under 
the  will  of  Our  Lord,  in  dependence  on  Him, 
and  only  for  Him;  you  will,  as  it  were, 
return  the  fruit  of  all  things  to  Him  who 
has  effected  them  in  you.  You  will  reach 
the  point  of  knowing  how  habitually  to 
renounce  self  completely  and  of  living  only 
of    Jesus    Christ,    by    Jesus    Christ,    in    Jesus 


MODELS    OF    THE    GIFT    OF    SELF       555 


Christ,  and  for  Jesus  Christ.  Now,  this 
is  the  gift  of  self,  a  consecration  whose 
spirit  extends  over  all  the  acts  of  life,  by 
virtue  of  which  .one  looks  upon  himself 
before  God  no  longer  as  a  person,  but  as 
a  member  of  the  Body  of  Jesus  Christ, 
who  is  its  Head,  its  Soul,  its  Person.  At 
this  point,  he  aims  at  judging  nothing, 
undertaking  nothing  by  himself.  He  is  now 
only  an  intermediary,  an  instrument  of  Our 
Lord's  will.  He  is  no  longer  anything  final 
nor  central  for  creatures, "  and  consequently, 
he  neither  seeks  nor  accepts  for  himself 
their  esteem  and  affection,  but  delivers  up, 
faithfully  passes  over  everything  to  the  Divine 
Person -.to  whom  he  has  given  himself,  in- 
to whose  hands  he  has  made  the  entire  re 
mission  of  himself.  The  motive  of  this  gift 
is  a  generous  and  disinterested  love  for  the 
beauty,  the  amiability  of  Jesus  Christ.  It 
is  the  acknowledgment  of  His  rights,  above 
all,  of  those  which  Communion  creates  over 
usi  for  by  it  He  takes  possession  of  our 
being,  therein  to  live  and  command  as 
Sovereign    Master. 


556  JESUS    AND    MARY 

You  have  a  perfect  model  of  this  life  in 
which  one  gives  himself  entirely  to  God 
for  God  Himself,  first,  in  the  Most  Blessed 
Virgin    Mary. 

The  holy  Gospel  calls  her  full  of  grace. 
The  angel  said  to  her:  "  The  Lord  is  with 
fJice."  But  in  u^hat  way?  Fully,  sovereign- 
ly. The  Holy  Ghost  reijns  in  her  mind 
and  heart,  directing  therein  all  and  every 
one  of  her  thoughts  and  affections.  He  is 
the  being  of  Mary  and  Mary  is  no  longer 
anything  m  herself,  but  all  in  the  Spirit 
of  God,  who  covers  her,  envelops  her.  and 
clothes  every'  one  of  her  powers  with  the 
rays  of  His  grace  and  His  love. 

Mary  manifests  her  correspondence  to  this 
life  of  God  in  her  by  that  blessed  word, 
one  of  the  most  beautiful  the  world  has 
ever  heard :  "  Behold  the  handmaid  of  the 
Lord !  "  What  does  she  mean  to  say  ?  "  1 
abandon  myself,  I  give  myself  all  entire 
to  what  my  Lord  and  my  God  may  wish  to 
do  in  me.  I  desire  never  to  think,  nor  will, 
nor  act  but  as  His  servant,  inspired,  moved, 
and   conducted   in    everything  by   His   will.  " 


MODELS    OF    THE    GIFT    OF    SELF      557 

"  Behold-  the  handmaid  of  the  Lord! 
This  is  the  formula  of  the  gift  of  self 
for  the  slave  loses  his  name,  his  authority, 
even  his  life,  all  which  are  made  over  to 
him  who  owns  him.  And  so  Mary  was  ever 
the  loving  slave  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  her 
whole  life  was  but  one  manifestation  of  her 
submission,  obedience,  and  total  forgetfulness 
of  self.  She  did  all  this  through  love,  and 
so  she  is  called'  the  Mother  of  beautiful 
love,  that  is,  of  the  love  -which  loves  God 
for  Himself,  because  of  His  perfections  and 
beauties,  because  He  is  the  principle  and 
the  end  0;f  all  things. 

See  her  during  her  whole  lite,  always  the 
victim  of  this  pure  love,  loving  her  Divine 
Son,  not  for  herself,  but  for  Himself,  never 
asking  of  Him  any  consolation  for  herself, 
not  trying  to  turn  Him  away  from  death 
nor  even  t6  retard  it  one  moment  in  order 
to  enjoy  her  dear  Son  a  little  longer;  but 
on  the  contrar>',  accompanying  Him  to 
Calvary  there  to  suffer  with  Him,  ready 
to  take  His  place  had  the  Father  so  willed, 
and    even   to  immolate   Him  herself  in   obe 


558  JESUS    AND    MARV 

dience  to  the  orders  of  His  divine  justice. 
Does  she  seek  self  in  all  this?  Is  this  not 
love   for   love? 

Our  Lord  made  her  practise  this  love  all 
her  life.  He  allowed  her  to  be  poor,  aban- 
doned, suffering  in  heart,  even  refusing  her 
those  consolations  that  would  have  been  so 
legitimate  during  His  public  life.  At  Cana. 
when  they  told  Him  that  His  Mother  was 
standing  without  seeking  Him,  Our  Lord 
treated  His  Mother  with  seenung  harshness. 
It  was  because  He  knew  that  she  loved 
Him  purely,  that  she  looked  for  nothing  as 
His  natural  Mother,  but  that  she  was  much 
more  His  handmaid,  His  disciple,  His  member 
by    supernatural    faith    and   love. 

The  Blessed  Virgin,  who  had  received  so 
many  graces,  who  performed  all  her  actions 
with  such  perfection,  had  to  glorify  God  by 
acknowledging  herself  nothing,  by  offeruig 
to  Him  all  their  merit,  by  referring  to  Him 
all  their  glory.  Never  has  Our  Lord  lived, 
never  will  He  live  so  fully  in  any  crea 
ture,  never  will  He  reign  m  any  other  so 
sovereignly.    It    was    no    longer    Mary,    but 


I 


MODELS    OF    THE     GIFT     OF    SELF       559 

[esus  who  thought,  judged,  willed.  Mary 
was  satisfied  to  repeat  by  every  pne  ot 
her  thoughts,  by  each  pulsation  of  her  heart, 
cind  still  more  by  every  one  of  her  actions 
Behold  the  handmaid  of  the  Lord — Fiat 
niihi    secundum    verbum    tunm '  " 

Never  any  resistance,  never  any  hesitation, 
disagreement,  nor  delay  with  regard  to  the 
will  of  Jesus  Christ  in  her,  but  identity 
of  sentiments,  views,  and  wills.  She  was 
His  throne  and  His  couch  of  repose,  His 
tabernacle  and  His  Paradise  of  delights, 
and  she  will-  be  forever  in  glory  what  sht 
was  in  labor  and  merit :  "  Deiis  in  medio 
ejfAS  non  commovebitur.  " 

Behold  your  model,  since  you  are  the 
servants  of  Jesus  Sacramental!  Hav^e  ever 
on  your  lips  and  realize  by  love  that  word 
of  Mary:  "  Behold  the  handmaid  of  (he 
Lord ! "   and   live    of   love   for   your    Master. 

But  this  beautiful  model  is  not  sufficient. 
There  is  one  still  more  perfect;  and  when 
I  propose  to  give  your,  personality  through 
love,  I  am  putting  you  in  the  way  of  doing 
what   Jesus   Christ    Himself   was   the   first    to 


560  JESUS    AND    MARY 

do  leaving  us  the  example  to  follow.  Yes. 
Jesus  Christ  served  His  Father  by  the  con- 
stant sacrifice  of  His  human  Personality  and 
if  you  clearly  comprehend  this  thought,  you 
will  exclaim:  "O  my  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  1 
want  to  serve  Thy  Father  as  Thou  didst ! ' 
In  fact,  to  give  one's  personality,  to  abstract 
from  self  in  everything,  is  to  reproduce  by 
grace  and  as  much  as  man's  nature  permits, 
the  mystery  and  the  spirit  of  the  Incarnation 
of  the  Word.  Grand  thought,  if  well  un- 
derstood! — 

In  Our  Lord  there  are  two  natures,  the 
human  nature  and  the  divine  nature,  but 
there  is  only  one  smgle  Person,  the  Person 
of  the  Word.  To  understand  this,  you  must 
know  that  every  nature  aims  essentially  at 
the  attainment  of  its  natural  perfection,  and 
as  soon  as  the  body  is  united  to  the  soul, 
this  union  produces  the  human  personality, 
which  forms  man's  highest  perfection,  mak 
ing  him  exist,  guiding  and  possessing  the 
soul  and  the  body,  and  being  the  prmgiple 
of   all    life. 

B\it  by  an   unprecedented  action  of  God. 


MODELS    OF    THE     GIFT    OF    SELF      561 

which  will  never  again  be  renewed,  at  the 
moment  when  the  Body  and  the  Soul  of 
Jesus  were  created  in  the  womb  .of  Mary 
by  the  operation  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  the 
Person  of  the  Word,  united  Himself  to 
them,  appropriated  them  and,  by  His  pres- 
ence, anticipated  the  human  personality 
which  would  have  resulted  from  the  uniori 
oi  a  soul  and  a  human  body.  This  Divine 
Person  possessed  Himself  of  it  forever  and 
as  th'i  Divine  Nature  is  from  all  eternity 
ihe  proper  nature  of  the  Word,  so  the 
Sacred  Humanity  became  from  that  moment 
His  second  nature  as  well.  One  single  Divine 
Person  possesses  two  natures  and  acts  by  the 
faculties  of  both,  the  Divine  and  the  human. 
Such  ]s  the  mystery  of  the  Word  made  Man. 
But  why  does  not  the  Word  admit  the 
human  personality  of  the  nature  that  He 
assumed?  It  is  because  one  being  can  have 
only  one  person,  since  the  person  is  the 
last  complement  of  the  being,  and  renders 
It  incommunicable  to  every  other  bei.ag;  so 
that,  if  the  Humanity  of  Jesus  had  had  its 
own    human    personality,    it    could    not   have 


562  JESUS     AND    MARY 

been  united  te  the  Word  in  unity  of  Person 
as  was  necessary  for  the  accomphshment  of 
rhe    Re-dernption 

A  heretic  once  said  that,  the  Person  of 
the  Word  having  united  Himself  to  Jesus 
Christ  already  a  human  person,  from  it 
there  resulted  two  persons  in  Jesus  Christ, 
and  that  there  were  in  Him  a  man  and  a 
God,  thence  it  followed,  that  God  the  Fa- 
ther was  the  principle  of  the  Divine  Per- 
son, and  Mary  of  the  human  person.  But, 
then,  who  has  saved  us  in  Jesus  Christ? 
The  God?  Not  at  all,  for  God  cannot  die. 
The  man?  With  still  greater  reason,  no, 
for,  a  man's  death  would  not  be  of  .sufficient 
value  to   redeem   other   men 

The  Catholic  Faith  teaches,  then,  that  hu- 
man nature  has  no  personality  in  Jesus 
Christ,  that  it  is  directly  umted  to  the 
Person  of  the  Word,  who  is  its  proper  and 
lonique  Person;  that  Mary  is  the  Mother 
?not  of  a  man,  but  of  a  human  nature 
subsisting  m  the  Person  of  the  Word,  and 
•consequently,  that  she  is  the  Mother  of  the 
Word    incarnate. 


MODELS    OF    THE     GIFT    OF    SELF       563 

But  in  this  privation,  there  is  for  Jesus 
Christ  as  Man  the  source  of  an  all  special 
life.  He  does  not  possess  Himself,  does  not 
direct  Himself.  He  is  not  an  individuality 
a  person,  but  He  is  vowed  and  dedicated 
by  a  dependence  not  only  of  th-e  will,  but 
of  nature  and  of  essence,  to  the  Person 
of  the  Word;  whence  it  follows  that,  as 
our  person  possesses  us,  commands  and  acts 
by  our  faculties  of  soul  and  body,  so  m 
Jesus  Christ  the  Person  of  the  Word  pos- 
sesses, acts,  and  commands  alone  as  mistress 
by  all  the  spiritual  and  corix)ral  faculties 
of  Jesus  Christ.  The  Humanity  of  Jesus 
Christ  becomes,  then,  the  servant  and  the 
slave  of  the  Word  forever,  for  this  state 
of    hypostatic    union    is    to   last    eternally 

Contemplate  this  adorable  mystery  of  the 
dependence  of  the  Sacred  Humanity  on  the 
Person  of  the  Word  in  the  life  of  Our 
Lord.  It  was  the  Person  of  the  Word  who 
commanded  the  human  nature  and  directed 
it  in  all  its  interior  and  exterior  operations. 
It  was  to  It  that  Our  Lord  referred  the 
honor,  the  affection,  and  in  It  that  He  placed 


564  JESUS    AND    MARY 

the  end  of  all  things,  and  never  in  His 
Humanity.  When  people  addressed  ihem- 
selvej  to  Him  as  to  a  Man.  He  would 
receive  nothing  from  them,  neither  praise 
nor  affection,  nor  service.  He  even  wanted 
to  do  nothing  as  Man  independently  of  His 
Divine  Person.  In  order  to  convince  men 
of  this  state,  He  was  very  severe,  as  we 
see  by  Hb  words  to  His  divine  Mother 
to  Saint  Peter,  and  to  the  Pharisees.  He 
said:  "The  Son  of  Man  can  do  nothing 
of  Himself,  nor  by  Himself.  He  can  speak, 
act,  will  only  in  accordance  with  His  Father 
and  by  His  Father,  "  that  is,  only  according 
to  the  judgment  and  will  that  His  Father 
comirunicates  to  the  Word  as  God,  and 
that  this  W^ord  manifests  to  the  Hxmianity 
which  belongs  to  Him  as  His  serV^ant  and 
created    organ. 

Jesus  Christ,  then,  as  Man  in  His  human 
nature,  in  His  Sacred  Humanity,  was  in 
and  for  all  things  submissive  to  the  Divine 
Person  of  the  Word,  to  whom  He  had  been 
given  as  sole  possession.  He  labored  only 
for  the  Word,   for,    existmg   not    m    Himself, 


MODELS    OF    THE     GIFT    OF    SELF       565 

but  only  in  the  Person  of  the  Word,  He 
could  not  think  of  being  His  own  end. 
But  He  was  the  active  workman,  the  servant, 
the  submissive  and  faithful  organ  of  Jh2  Di 
vine   Word. 

Ah,  well  I  if  you  wish  to  give  your  per- 
sonality to  Our  Lord,  you  will  imitate  by 
grace  what  He  Himself  did  by  His  essential 
state  as  much  as  by  love,  you  will  give 
yourself  totally;  and  as  much  as  the  power 
of  His  grace  will  permit  you,  you  will 
discard  you  will  separate  from  your  own 
personality,  renouncing  its  rights,  its  views, 
Us  interests,  and  you  will  beg  Our  Lord 
to  take  the  place  of  all  that.  By  means 
of  His  grace,  you  will  comport  yourself 
toward  Him  with  submission  as  entire  as 
yoiir  soul  and  its  faculties,  your  body  and 
your  members  show  forth  in  obeying  your 
personality;  or  rather,  you  should  endeavor 
to  imitate  the  submission,  the  dependence 
the  state  of  absolute  and  loving  servitude 
that  His  Sacred  Humanity  manifested  to 
ward    the    Divine    Person    of    the    Word 

To    continue    and    to    reproduce    in     our 


566  JESUS    AND     MARY 

selves  Jeisus  Christ, — is  this  not  the  work 
of  works?  To  unite  one's  self  to  the  spirit 
of  His  mysteries  in  order  to  reproduce  them 
in  one's  self, — is  this  not  the  best  means  of 
holiness?  Well,  by  the  gift  of  personality, 
you  unite  yourself-  to  the  state  which  is  in 
Jesus  Christ  the  foundation,  the  root  of  all  the 
mysteries,  of  all  the  acts,  of  all  the  words, 
of  all  the  merits  of  His  life  on  earth,  for 
it  was  not  once  in  passing,  not  for  one 
act  only  of  His  life,  but  for  His  whole 
life,  that  He  was  deprived  of  liuman  per- 
sonality. He  came  into  this  world  by  this 
sacrifice  and  this  gift.  All  His  mysteries 
followed  afterward  and,  unfolding  one  after 
another,  according  as  the  Holy  Spirit  led 
Him,  they  showed  forth  this  gift  and  this 
sacrifice.  They  drew  from  this  state,  on  the 
one  side,  their  infinite  value,  and  on  the  other 
their  infinite  humiliations,  also.  As  God 
equal  to  the  Father,  Jesus  Christ  performed 
miracles;  as  Man,  He  prayed,  annihilated 
Himself  before  His  Father,  feared,  suffered 
and  died.  As  the  Man  God.  He  satisfied 
Divine  Justice  and   redeemed   us. 


MODELS    OF    THE     GIFT     OF     SELF       567 

See  what  sublime  dignity  this  Sacred  Hu 
manity  received  in  exchange  for  its  human 
personality!  United  hypostatically,  that  is, 
in  a  union  of  existence  and  subsistence  to 
the  Word  of  God,  it  was  the  Humanity  of 
God.  In  seeing  Jesus  Christ,  one  saw  God 
It  was  the  countenance,  the  word,  the  arm 
of    God    Himself 

Admirable  union  1  Adorable  unity!  And 
so  the  .Sacred  Humanity,  as  a  fa:thful 
servant,  referred  everything  to  the  Person 
of  the  Word,  His  ruler,  His  prmciple,  and 
through    It   to  the   Holy  Trinity 

All  Christians  have  the  grace  to  imitate 
Jesus  Christ  in  that,  for  Jesus  Christ  desires 
to  live  in  them,  to  annihilate  in  them  the 
natural  man  and  to  take  his  place,  so  that, 
according  to  the  word  of  Saint  Paul,  it 
would  be  He  who  would  live  in  us  and 
not  we  ourselves.  Why  not  embrace  this 
btate  once  for  all?  Why  not  enter,  by  a 
formal  act  of  donation  to  Jesus  Christ,  mto 
this  grace  of  true  Christianity,  of  true  interior 
service  as  the  greatest  love  the  greatest 
glory    of    God'' 


568  JESUS    AND    MARY 

The  whole  life  afterward  would  be  only 
the  renewal,  the  perfecting  of  this  gift.  All 
the  virtues,  all  the  duties  of  your  state  you 
would  practise  in  the  spirit  of  this  gift.  It 
would  be  a  continual  sacrificial  holocaust 
of  your  life,  giving  to  it  a  grace  and  a  unity 
that  would  augment  your  powers  and  double 
your  merits. 

Is  it  not  sovereignly  just  that,  since  there 
can  be  in  every  being  but  one  first  prin 
ciple,  and  in  a  man  but  one  personality, 
ours  should  give  place  to  that  of  Jesus  Christ? 
If  this  gift  were  not  implicitly  contained 
in  the  promises  of  our  Baptism  and  in  our 
religious  profession,  would  we  belong  fullv 
to  Jesus  Christ?  Hence,  why  not  renew  it 
by  a  positive  and  formal  intention,  giving 
ouisclves  forever  to  His  adorable  Person 
by    renouncing    our    own? 

To  comprehend  clearly  the  practice  of  this 
gift,  read  the  Gospel  of  Saint  John.  There 
you  will  hear  Our  Lord  affirming  that  He 
ran  do  nothing  of  Himself  whether  as  to 
thinking,  for  He  consults  the  thought  of 
His    Father,    that    is.    the    Divinitv    in    Him. 


MODELS    OF   THE   GIFT   OF   SELF  569 

for  the  father  and  the  Ward  are  but  one 
same  Divinity;  or  as  to  acting,  for  He  asks 
the  Father  what  He  wills;  or  as  to  judging, 
for  He  first  has  to  know  the  Father's 
judgment. 

You  will  see  Him  not  permitting  any  one 
to  exalt  Him  as  Man,  if  the  praise  given 
Him  is  not  referred  to  the  Divinity  in 
Him:  "Why  do  you  call  Me  good?  God 
alone    is    good.  "  ^ 

You  will  see  Him  never  allowing  any  one 
to  love  Him  naturally,  that  is,  with  a  love 
which  pauses  on  His  Humanity,  since  it  is 
to  the  person  love  and  affection  are  diirected, 
and  as  Man  He  had  annihilated  His  person. 
Saint  Peter,  who  wanted  to  deter  Him  from 
suffermg,  He  repulsed  as  Satan.  Even  the 
affection  of  His  holy  Mother  He  refused, 
when  she  seemed  to  address  herself  to  the 
Man  in  Him;  and  so  in  the  Temple  He 
replied  to  her  tears  and  gentle  rebuke  by 
these  words:  "And  why  did  you  seek  Me? 
Do  you  not  know  that  I  must  be  about 
My  Father's  busmess?  "  And  yet  He  loved 
His  tender  Mother,  and  He  had  no  greater 

The  Divine  Eucharist.  -ij 


570  JESUS  AND  MARY 

joy  than  to  be  loved  by  her.  Bujt  He  did 
not  want  us  to  deceive  ourselves  as  to  the 
character  of  that  love,  which  should  never 
fix  itself  on  Him  as  Man  and  the  Son  of 
Mary,  but  should  go  even  to  His  Divine 
Person,  Which  was  in  Him  the  only  end 
of  every  action,  as  well  as  the  term  of  all 
affection. 

Well,  now,  do  the  same.  Jesus  Christ  is 
in  you.  He  abides  therein,  He  dwells  therein. 
Let  Him  live  there  in  liberty,  with  authority, 
and  as  your  first  principle.  Form  with  Him 
by  denying  your  own  cjo,  one  person,  di- 
vine and  human.  Let  Him  be  your  person. 
Be  but  His  nature,  in  order  to  serve  Him 
by  your  soul  and  your  senses.  Refer  all 
affection,  honor,  and  glory  to  Him.  Vou 
belong  to  Him,  you  live  and  subsist  in  Him. 
Vou  are  His  member,  His  organ.  It  is  very 
just  that  He  should  be  the  end.  as  He 
is    the    principle. 

The  sovereign  end  of  Communion  is  to 
form  unity  of  life  and  person  between  Jesus 
Christ  and  us.  It  is  not  perfect  if  we  do 
not   arrive  at   that,— for  it   is   not  our  works 


MODELS   OF  THE   GIFT   OF   SELF         571 

alane  that  He  desires  when  descending"  into 
us,  but  ourselves.  It  seems  to  me  that  Our 
Lord,  on  quitting  the  tabernacle  to  come 
to  us,  says :  "I  am  going  to  be  incarnated 
in  this  person.  I  am  going  to  unite  Myself 
sacramentally  to  her.  m  order  t^t  My  Per- 
sonality may  take  the  place  of  hers.  I  want 
to  be  her  principle,  and  to  elevate  her  being 
and  her  actions  to  the  divine  Unity.  I  shall 
think  and  will  in  her  soul.  I  shall  live  m 
her  body,  love  in  her  heart,  glonfy  My 
Father  in  her  as  I  glorified  Him  on  earth 
in  My  Sacred  Humanity  I  am  going  to 
continue  for  the  glory  of  My  Father,  for 
His  love,  and  for  the  honor  of  this  creature. 
My  meriting  and  suffering  life.  I  shall  giVe 
to  her  actions  a  supernatural  and  divine 
value,  and  I  shall  be  the  centre  of  her 
affections  and  the  principle  of  a  new.  life, 
which  will  be  the  reproduction  of  My  own 
life. " 

Oh  I  enter  into  this  way  I  Become  the 
true  servants  of  the  Divilie  Person  of  Jesus 
Christ  in  you.  Still  more,  become  His  vic- 
tims,   for    God    is    a    consuming    fire.     And 


572  JESUS  AND  MARY 

as  the  Word  ininiolated  and  consumed 
His  Humanity  by  a  life  of  constant  suffer- 
ing in  soul  and  body,  and  by  the  death 
of  the  Cross,  so,  once  given  to  Jesus  Christ, 
He  will  immolate  you  entirely. 

Behold  the  practice:  first,  never  to  seek 
anything  for  self;  to  refuse  the  esteem  and 
affection  of  creatures;  to  see  them  despising 
and  persecuting  you,  not  only  without  utter- 
ing a  complaint,  but  recognizing  that  nothing 
is  more  just.  That  costs,  certainly,  but  one 
kills  himself  in  order  to  live! 

To  accept  humiliation,  to  immolate  one's 
body  and  its  sensuality  in  everything,  is 
painful,  one  feels  resistance;  but  do  you 
not  think  that  Our  Lord,  also,  felt  the 
suffering  of  His  sacrifice?  Listen  to  Him 
in  the  Garden  of  Olives :  "  My  Father,  if 
it  be  possible,  let  this  chalice  pass  from 
Me!"  It  is  the  cry  of  His  Humanity.  But 
immediately  He  subjects  it  to  His  Divine 
Person  and  stretches  it  on  the  funereal  pile: 
"But    not    My   will,    but    Thine    be    done!" 

You  will  feel  the  conflict:,  also,  temptation 
and    humiliation.     But    if    you    fail    in    your 


MODELS    OF  THE   GIFT   OF   SELF  573 

promises  by  retaking  yourself  in  something, 
grace  will  be  ever  present  to  raise  you  up. 
You  will  renew  your  gift,  and  thus  you 
will  persevere  in  your  dependence,  and  you 
will  be  always  the  servant  and  the  victim 
of   the   glory   and   the   will   of   God. 

Come,  then,  give  yourselves  most  gener- 
ously and  without  counting  the  cost  •  "  To 
Thee,  Divine  Persoil  in  me,  honor,  love,  and 
glory  I  —  To  myself  humiliation  and  con- 
tempt !  " 

Yes,  without  counting  the  cost!  Our  Lord 
will  recompense  you  well  if  you  give  your- 
self in  this  way.  First,  even  by  giving  to 
Jesus  the  honor  and  glory  of  your  works, 
they  take  on  an  inherent,  essential  merit 
that  will  be  yours,  that  you  will  keep  for 
heaven.  You  receive,  also,  the  increase  of 
grace  that  every  meritorious  work  produces. 
Then  Jesus  Christ  ascends  te  heaven  by 
His  own  right,  but  He  bears  with  Him  all 
that  belongs  to  Him  and  you  make  one 
with  Him.  Can  He  forget  His  own  Flesh? 
No,  He  will  take  care  of  its  glory  and 
happiness     As   for   you,    from    this   moment. 


574 


JESUS  AND  MARY 


place  all  your   delight   in  giving  yourself  to 
Him  by  a  love  always  purer,  more  generous 

and  more  faithful. 


* 


^^^^i&i&^^iS&g&^^^^Si^^ 


The  INTERIOR  EDUCATION 


of  an  ADORATRIGE. 


TSS^^VSS^'y^WW^^^^'^^^'^^^^i 


HE  interior  education  of  an  adoratnce 
consists  in  learning'  to  live  interiorly 
and  to  think,  speak,  and  converse  with 
Our  Lord.  Children  are  taught  to  think 
rightly  and  then  to  speak  well.  There  should 
be  a  choice,  a  certain  refinement  in  language 
Everybody  does  not  know  how  to  talk,  and 
there  must  be  a  certain  education  to  enable 
one  to  follow  a  conversation.  This  is  still 
more  true  in  the  mterior  life,  in  the  life 
with  Our   Lord. 

When  a  person  has  not  a  well  marked 
vocation,  when  he  is  ignorant  of  his  domi- 
nant attraction  and  his  grace  of  life,  he 
thinks  Httle  and  sometimes  not  at  all.  He 
has  a  vague,  an  entirely  exterior  piety,  which 
consists  only  in  practices.  It  frequently 
happens  that  we  meet  devout  persons  who 
ordinarily  are  not  inspired  by  one  super- 
natural, religious,  divine  thought.  Their  life 
is    a   circle   out    of    which    they   never   pass. 


576  THC    INTERIOR    EDUCATION 

They  are  accustomed  to  it.  they  follow  the 
movement  of  their  pious  exercises,  but  their 
heart  has  no  expansive  Hfe.  They  have 
not  that  life  of  the  soul  which  burns,  which 
is  ever  rising  toward  new  sacrifices,  borne 
along  by  new  motives.  Their  interior  knowl- 
edge goes  no  farther  than  the  practices  in 
which   they  live. 

It  would  be  very  unfortunate  it  professional 
.idoratriccs  were  among  their  number.  A 
religious  soul  ought  incessantly  to  aspire  to 
j^reater  perfection.  She  is  making  progress 
only  when  she  is  learning  better  to  con- 
verse with  God,  and  is  ever  receiving  interior 
nourishment  sufficient  to  renew  and  increase 
her  supernatural   energies. 

A  soul  that  thinks,  that  knows  how  to 
reflect — put  her  in  any  situation  whatever, 
—  has  nothing  to  fear.  Now,  your  vocation 
obliges  you  to  this  interior  life,  to  this  inner 
life  in  which  without  outward  help  you  can 
converse  with   Our    Lord   in   your   soul. 

Unhappily,  we  can  habituate  ourselves, 
also,  to  our  state.  \Ve  limit  ourselves  to 
materially  performing  holy  practices,  and  we 


1 


OF  AN  ADORATRICE  577 

have  the  sad  talent  of  leading  a  life  exterior 
and  personal  in  the  midst  of  the  graces  of 
the  Eucharistic  life.  What  a  misfortune! 
What  treasures  of  grace  lost  I 

In  order  to  avoid  this,  accustom  your- 
selves to  think  seriously.  Lei  your  thoughts 
and   intentions  be  very   clear,   very   definite. 

Renew  them  often  and  lef  them  be,  indeed, 
for  Our  Lord,  by  Our.  Lord,  and  with  Our 
Lord  in  the  Most  Blessed  Sacrament.  You 
must  reach  the  point  of  thinking  in  all  things 
by  the  Holy  Eucharist.  Let  all  your  thoughts 
turn  that  way,  springing  from  and  ending 
there  You  have  the  grace  for  it,  it  is  your 
interior  service,  it  is  a  necessity  for  you. 
Without  that,  how  adore  in  spirit  and  truth? 
You  would  be  only  a  body,  a  mechanical 
adorer,  moved  only  by  the  force  of  the 
exterior  Rule.  Our  Lord  wishes  the  actual 
and  continual  service  of  your  whole  being, 
and  He  loves  the  interior  far  better  than 
the  exterior  service  which  is,  as  it  were, 
only   the   bark. 

You  must  lyiake  the  idea  of  unity  pre- 
dominate throughout  your  whole  life  by. the 


578  THE   INTERIOR    EDUCATION 

thought  of  the  Eucharist.  Unity  comprises 
Our  Lord  entirely:  His  past  life,  which  pre- 
pared the  Eucharist;  His  present  life,  which 
is  passed  under  your  eyes  and  of  which  you 
behold  the  virtues;  His  future  life,  which 
will  be  only  the  extension,  glorified  and 
unveiled,  of  the  Eucharistic  Sacrifice.  See, 
then,  Our  Lord  living  His  life  of  love  in 
the  Blessed  Sacrament,  applying  therein  the 
love  of  all  His  virtues,  of  all  His  mysteries. 
The  Eucharist  belongs  to  every  feast  and 
lo  every  day  in  the  year.  We  can  recall 
nothing  of  which  It  is  not  the  living  me- 
morial. We  celebrate  in  the  Eucharist  the 
enduring  love  of  Our  Lord,  His  love  actual 
and  living  until  the  end  of  the  world.  All 
religion,  with  its  mysteries  and  feasts,  its 
virtues  and  graces,  as  well  as  its  duties, 
is  vivified  by  the  love  of  the  Eucharist,  draw- 
ing  from   It    both    life  and  grace. 

You  should  love  nothing  but  in  the  Eu- 
charist and  on  account  of  its  relations  to 
the  Eucharist.  Jesus  Eucharistic  ought  to  be' 
your  final  love  in  all  things.  Vou  ought 
to   love    only    on   account    of    Him. 


OF  AN  ADORATRICE  579 

We  think  as  we  love.  If  you  love  Our 
Lord,  yoii  will  think  of  Him  spontaneously 
and  without  effort.  You  will  find  Him  every- 
where and  in  every  thing.  You  wlill  see 
only  Him,  and  this  knowledgfe  is  betjter  than 
all  books,  it  takes  the  place  of  them  all. 
But  for  this  one  must  have  Him  very  really 
in  his  heart.  The  habitual  thought  follows 
the  affection,  and  quite  naturally  attaches 
itself  to  it. 

It  would  be  sad  were  you  of  the  number 
of  those  souls  that  think  of  Our  Lord  only 
when  He  scourges  them.  Oh,  do  not  force 
Our  Lord  to  send  you  trials  and  temptations, 
m  order  to  oblige  you  to  think  of  Him  J 
Let  it  not  be  the  demon  who  forces  you 
to  recur  to  God,  but  the  promptings  of 
your  own  heart  of  a  child  and  an  adoratnce, 

See  the  Apostles  on  the  Lake  of  Tiberias. 
They  had  left  Our  Lord  in  a  corner  of 
the  boat,  and  they  were,  no  doubt,  chattmg 
together  about  their  nets  and  their  fishing, 
forgetful  of  their  Divine  Master.  Our  Lord 
then  stirred  up  a  tempest,  and  the  Apostles 
affrighted  ran  to  Him:  "  Save  us,  we  perish  I  " 


580  THE    INTERIOR    EDUCATION 

Do  not  act  in  that  way.  Do  not  wait  until 
interest  or  chastisement  drives  you  to  Our- 
Lord,  but  live  in  habitual  converse  with 
Him.  If  we  love  Him,  we  shall  know  how 
to  think   of   Him. 

Let  us  make  our  romance  divine  I  But  no! 
Such  a  comparison,  although  well  expressing- 
what  I  want  to  say,  is  too  human.  But  let 
us  passionately  love,  and  we  shall  continually 
think  upon  the  object  of  our  love.  We  shall 
see  Him  everywhere  we  shall  labor  only 
to  give  Him  pleasure  \Vc  must  lose  our- 
selves  in   Jesus! 

Learn,  then,  to  think  of  Our  Lord,  but 
find  Him  where  He  is  for  you,  not  in 
heaven,  but  in  the  Blessed  Sacrament.  Let 
Him  be  the  sun  that  enlightens  your  whole 
life.  Live  always  under  Its  rays,  and  let 
none  of  Its  light  and  beneficent  warmth 
escape;  for  He  shares  with  us  all  His  rays 
and,  while  the  material  sun  abandons  us 
when  it  enlightens  the  opposite  hemisphere, 
the  Eucharist  condenses  in  Itself  all  Its 
divine  beams  and  uninterruptedly  showers 
them   upon   us.    To    the   east,    we    have    His 


OF  AN  ADORATRICE  581 

Birth,  to  the  south,  Nazareth;  to  the  north, 
Calvary;  and  in  the  west,  the  Tomb.  Fol- 
low Him  in  all  the  states  in  which  He  places 
you,  go  where  He  sends  you,  you  will  find 
Him  everywhere.  "lYec  est  qui  se  abscondat 
a  colore  ejus — And  there  is  no  one  that 
can   hide   himself   from    His   heat. " 

Let  your  love  be  your  science  of  adoration. 
When  you  go  to  adore,  do  not  begin  with 
books,  think  for  yourselves.  Ask  the  Di- 
vine Master  to  instruct  you.  Be  certain  that 
an  Adoration  made  by  your  own  weakness, 
with  all  your  miseries,  is  of  more  value 
than  all  you  can  borrow  from  books,  be* 
cause  it   is  yours. 

Books  are  excellent  helps  when  the  mind 
is  so  distracted  or  so  powerless  that  one 
can  draw  nothing  from  it  But  in  the 
ordinary  state  of  your  life,  do  not  have 
easy  recourse  to  such  means.  In  reality,  we 
take  a  book  more  frequently  because  w« 
have  not  the  courage  to  support  dryness  and 
disgust. 

Adore  simply  with  your  heart,  and  know 
that,   love   is    the   true    science   of    adoration 


582  THE   INTERIOR    EDUCATION 

We  notice  that  God  often  renders  the 
mind  incapable  of  reasoning^  and  reflecting. 
Why?  Because  we  are  by  nature  great 
prattlers.  We  always  want  to  talk  to  Him. 
The  good  God  shuts  up  our  mind  and  seems 
to  say  to  us:  "Go  into  thy  own  heart.  " 

If  then,  instead  of  reasoning,  instead  of 
seeking  means  and  explanations  in  our  own 
mind,  we  say  simply:  "My  God,  I  offer 
Thee  my  misery,  my  dryness,  all  that  I 
am,  an  abyss  of  misery,  "  oh!  wc  toucli 
the  Heart  of  God,  and  He  can  say:  "Be- 
hold a  soul  that  loves  Me  more  than  her 
own  pleasure  and  the  sweetness  of  My 
graces. 

Love,  then,  and  think.  This  is  the  whole 
interior  life.  If  you  learn  to  think,  if  you 
have  the  courage  to  think  persoveringly  on 
Our  Lord  and  to  conv^erse  with  Him,  not 
only  at  the  prie-Dieu,  but  during  your  oc- 
cupations, in  your  cell,  oh,  you  will  never 
have  tasted  anything  like  it  I  Then  one 
dreams  of  God,  one  loves  Him  everywhere 
and  in  all  things.  The  soul  then  rises  to 
God   peacefully   and    without    effort,    because 


OF  AN  ADORATRICE  583 

her  thoughts  are  ever  fixed  on  Him.  She 
appears  to  float,  and  the  flapping-  of  her 
wings   is   no    longer   seen. 

It  is  an  established  principle  that  the  proper 
word  to  express  the  thought  is  always  found 
when  the  latter  is  clear  and  well  understood 
in  the  mind.  It  is  said,  also,  that  what  is 
well  comprehended,  is  well  retained.  You 
will  then  say  to  the  good.  God  the  sentiment 
of  your  soul,  and  you  will  well  know  how 
to  say  it,  if  you  love.  Then  your  Adorations 
will  always  be  new,  because  love  is  a  flame 
always  new.  You  must  reach  that  degree. 
That  is  life.  All  else  is  a  languishing  in  self. 
Then  one  spends  good  and  beautiful  mo- 
ments; then  one  loves  the  good  God  as  He 
should  be  loved  in  order  to  live  the  interior 
life  by  truth  and  charity,  by  union  of  thought, 
heart,   and  life  with   Him. 


The  SPIRIT  of  the  VOWS 


and  the  GIFT  of  SELF. 


I. 

HE  first  gift  of  love  thai  a  Servam 
of  the  Most  Blessed  Sacrament  ought 
to  bring  to  her  Divine  Master  is  obedience. 
Obedience  is  the  virtue  that  constitutes  her 
condition  of  servant.  The  name  expresses 
it   plainly    enough. 

Then,  you  will  love  the  obedience  which 
makes  you  true  religious  of  Jesus.  You  will 
fear  nothing  so  much  as  being  deprived  in 
your  actions  of  the  grace,  as  well  as  of 
the  merit,  of  obedience.  If  you  are  asked 
what  you  are  doing,  you  must  be  able  to 
answer:    1    am    obeying    through    love. 

Your  vow  obliges  you  faitlifully  to  ac- 
complish wliatever  obedience  may  prescribe 
to  you,  namely:  the  Constitutions  in  what- 
ever they  mark  out  for  the  whole  Community 
or  for  each  individual  in  her  particular  em 
ployment;    the    regulation    of    the     common 


THE    SPIRIT    OF   THE   VOWS  585 

exercises,    the    positive    orders,    general     or 
partrcular,  given  by  Superiors. 

But  the  best  obedience  is  that  inspired 
by  love  and  accomplished  by  cheerful  virtue. 
The  perfection  of  obedience  lies  in  the 
simplicity  of  love;  this  is  the  obedience  of 
the  child.  Look,  then,  for  only  one  thing 
to  urge  you  to  obey,  the  will  of  God.  or 
His  good  pleasure,  because  all  that  God 
wills  IS  good,  all  that  He  loves  is  holy, 
all  that  He  vi^ishes  is  for  our  greater  good. 
Behold  the  vv^hole  science  of  the  true  children 
of    God. 

Do  not  obey  your  Superiors  because  they 
are  good,  or  pious,  or  learned.  That  would 
be  to  obey  the  creature,  a  natural  obedience 
worthless   for  heaven. 

Never  obey  through  human  fear  of  the 
person  or  of  the  reprimand.  That  would 
be  to  obey  as  a  beast  deprived  of  reason 
That  would  be  humiliating  obedience  worthy 
only  of  a  slave. 

But  obey  God  who  commands  you  through 
a  creature  whom  He  has  invested,  with  His 
own    authority,    and    who    is    only    a   speak- 

The  Divine  Eucharist,  38 


586  THE    SPIRIT    OF   THE   VOWS 

ingf-trumpet,  a  divine  representative.  To  try 
your  faith  and  humble  your  self-love,  God 
does  not  Himself  command  you;  never- 
theless,   the    order    comes    direct   from    Him 

Obey  for  love  of  Jesus,  for  His  glory, 
in  order  to  honor  the  obedience  of  His 
life  and  Passion,  and  lastly  and  aboVe  all, 
to  glorify  His  Eucharistic  obedience,  which' 
is   greater   still. 

How  admirable  is  that  obedience  of  Jesus 
Christ  in  the  Blessed  Sacrament!  it  is  un- 
attended by  glory,  its  perfection  is  not  seen. 
It  is  almost  always  without  honor.  Who  in 
the  world  reflects  on  it,  even  the  Christian 
even  the  pious  soul.-*  It  is  humiliated,  since 
He  obeys  even  the  sacrilegious,  the  apostate, 
the  soul  in  abominable  sin.  Thus  has  the 
law  of  His  love  willed.  It  is  perpetual.  By 
His  sacramental  state,  He  is  dependent  upon 
and  subject  to  man.  He  has  become  his 
Prisoner  of  love.  Behold  your  Master.  To 
lead  you  to  love  obedience,  He  obeys  even 
in  His  state  of  glory  ancj  royalty! 

Then  let  your  obedience  be  prompt  as 
that    of    the   angel    when   God   calls   him,    as 


AND   THE    GIFT    OF    SELF  587 

that:  of  Jesus  when  the  priest  consecrates 
Him.  Let  it  be  joyous  as  the  gift  of  gen- 
erous  love. 

To  command  you  in  the  name  of  God 
is  to  do  you  great  honor;  it  is  also  to 
wish  you  much  good,  since  it  is  to  put 
you  in  the  very  virtue  of  Jesus  sacramental. 
It  is  to  enrich  you,  since  it  is  to  make  of 
your  life  a  continual  victory,  as  says  the 
Holy  Ghost.  Obey,  then,  through  love,  with 
all  your  heart  and  mind  and  will 


H. 


In  consecrating  yourself  to  God  by  the 
vow  of  chastity,  you  pledge  yourself  to 
have  no  other  spouse  than  the  King  of  puri- 
ty, in  order  to  be  more  perfectly  at  His 
divine  service.  By  that  vow  you  declare 
eternal  divorce  from  the  world,  its  vanities 
and  pleasures,  and  you  wish  henceforth  to 
please  Jesus  Christ  alone  and  to  love  Him 
sovereignly. 

It  is  a  beautiful  virtue,  a  glorious  crown. 
And  yet,   love  not   holy  purity  only   because 


588  THE   SPIRIT    OF   THE   VOWS 

it  renders  you  the  sister  of  the  angels,  beauti- 
ful and  adorned  before  God.  Love  that 
beautiful  flower,  because  it  is  pleasing  to 
the  great  King,  because  it  charms  His  love 
and  honors  Him  in  His  very  essence,  for 
He  is  the  thrice-holy  Gnd,  and  holiness  is 
purity. 

Be  also  for  His  love  thrice-pure,  pure  in 
your  body,  because  it  is  the  living  temple 
of  the  Holy  Trinity;  pure  in  your  mind 
because  it  is  the  mirror  m  which  God  desires 
to  reflect  His  truth,  as  well  as  His  good- 
ness; pure  in  your  heart,  because  it  is  the 
sanctuary  in  which  your  Spouse  abides.  You 
are  God's  heaven!  Then,  let  nothing  sullied 
enter   and   remain   therein. 

Holy  purity  is  the  only  dowry  that  the 
Heavenly  Spouse  demands  of  you.  It  is  the 
auptial  robe.  Your  vow  is  the  divine  ring 
of   your   alliance   with   Jesus. 

Be,  then,  holily  jealous  of  the  honor  of 
your  vocation,  as  well  as  of  your  service. 
It  is  comprised  entirely  in  virginity.  But 
holy  purity,  like  the  lily  of  the  desert,  grow5 
in    the    midst    of    thorns.    Guard    it    well    by 


AND   THE    GIFT    OF   SELF  589 

surrounding  yourself  with  the  thorns  of  mod- 
esty and  moderation.  Like  the  lily  turn- 
ing toward  heaven  its  spotless  chalice,  never 
look  down  upon  earth,  but  up  to  God 
So  delicate  is  this  queen  of  flowers  that, 
to  touch  it  is  to  blight  it.  Its  whiteness 
is  unequalled,  sunlight  only  makes  it  appear 
in  all  its  splendor.  Its  stalk  is  dark  and 
without  beauty,  which  is  all  centred  in  its 
brilliant  crown.  And  so,  let  all  your  virtues 
be  the  humble  servants  of  that  which  attracts 
the  eyes  and  the  love  of  the  great  King. 
May  He  alone  receive  the  first  and  the 
last  glance  of  your  heart  as  of  your  whole 
life! 

Daughters  of  the  Queen  of  virgins,  be  like 
unto  your  Mother.  She  trembles  with  re- 
serve and  holy  modesty  at  the  sight  of  an 
angel  in  human  form.  She  loves  more  than 
all  else  what  she  knows  to  be  loved  by 
God   in  her  above   all    else. 

Remember  that  you  bear  in  your  purity 
the  honor  of  your  vocation,  the  duty  of 
your  state,  the  life  of  the  Congregation  your 
mother,    and    the    reign    of    God    in   you! 


590  THE   SPIRIT   OF  THE   VOWS 


ill. 


A  Servant  of  the  Blessed  Sacrament  ought 
to  possess  nothing  as  her  own,  but  to  live  the 
common  h'fe,  content  with  everything",  and 
happy  when,  by  the  privation  of  something 
useful  or  even  necessary-,  she  can  say  to 
Our  Lord:  "I  am  the  poor  one  of  Thy 
love!  " 

On  entering  the  Congregation,  the  first 
duty  and  the  first  act  of  love  is  to  despoil 
ourselves  of  all  that  we  have,  keeping  for 
our  use  only  what  holy  obedience  determines 
that  we  may  be  free  from  all  earthly  cares  and 
become  the  children  of  Divine  Providence 

By  poverty,  you  ought  to  consider  your 
selves  dead  to  the  world,  to  live  hidden 
in  God  with  Jesus  Christ.  You  can,  conse 
quently,  retain  nothing  for  your  future  needs, 
nor  take  upon  yourself  the  supporting  ol 
good  works,  whether  of  charity  or  almsgiving. 
The  world  is  dead  to  you,  and  you  are 
dead  to  it. 

Love  the  holy  poverty  of  Jesus  as  a  good 
mother,    who    will    take    good    care    of    you 


AND    THE    GIFT    OF    SELF  591 

and  allow  you  to  want  for  nothing-,  provided 
you  cheerfully  abandon  yourself  to  Divine 
Providence.  The  peace  and  joy  of  the  Holy 
Spirit  are  delicious  fruits  of  poverty.  It  gives 
to  love  its  wings,  to  virtue  its  aliment,  to 
your  whole  life  its  merit  and  glory.  Under 
its  reign,  what  is  little  becomes  great,  what 
is   distasteful   becomes   delightful. 

Such  is  the  secret  of  the  poor  of  Jesus 
Christ.  He  has,  in  effect,  said  to  them: 
"  Ye  are  blessed,  because  yours  is  the  king- 
dom  of    God.  " 

In  espousing  Jesus,  you  espouse  His  state 
of  poverty.  The  bride  assumes  the  rank  of 
the  bridegroom.  Now,  Jesus  is  poor  in  His 
clothing,  in  His  nourishment,  in  His  abode, 
in  His  labor.  Vou  will  live,  then,  as  He 
does,  as  His  Blessed  Mother,  as  dear  Saint 
Joseph,  His  loving  foster-father.  They  were 
happy  in  their  poverty,  and  Heaven  looked 
down  in  admiration  on  a  God  become  poor 
for  love  af  man,  and  to  teach  him  the  price 
of  poverty. 

But  you  will,  above  all,  admire  and  imitate 
the  poverty  that  He  practises  in  the  Blessed 


592  THE    SPIRIT    OF  THE   VOWS 

Sacrament.  In  spite  of  His  state  of  glory 
and  power,  He  still  desires  to  honor  and 
practise  lovely  pKDverty,  that  we  may  always 
have   its   grace  and   model   before  our   eyes. 

Material  poverty  suffices,  it  is  true,  for 
satisfying  the  rigor  of  the  vow;  but  it  is 
to  spiritual  poverty,  poverty  of  spirit,  that 
we  must  aim,  as  to  the  highest  point  of 
virtue,  and  even  to  the  extreme  limit  of 
sanctity 

Poverty  of  spirit  is  nothing  else  than  the 
soul  of  true  humility.  It  is  perfect  love. 
It  is  the  sovereign  means  of  God  s  glory, 
for  the  more  the-  poor  in  spirit  abase  them 
selves  in  their  lowliness,  the  more  they  honor 
God,  their  Creator,  for  they  thus  acknowl- 
edge that  their  being,  their  life,  their  gifts 
and  graces,  all  proceed  from  Him  and  belong 
absolutely    to    Him. 

Should  it  please  God  to  make  you  feel 
your  poverty  and  His  absolute  dominion  over 
you  by  paralyzing  your  intelligence,  by  wither- 
ing up  your  heart,  by  taking  away  from 
you  the  sweetness  of  His  grace  and  the  peace 
of  His  service,  by  delivering  you  thus  despoil- 


I 

I 


AND    THE    GIFT    OF    SELF  593 

ed  to  the  tempest  of  the  passions,  to  the 
fury  of  demons,  isolating-  you  from  all  created 
help,  even  hiding  Himself  from  you,  oh? 
then,  thank  Him,  confessing  that  you  do  not 
yet  suffer  all  you  deserve.  Fall  down  and 
adore  God  in  naked  and  absolute  poverty. 
You  will  thereby  glorify  Him  more  than  by 
all   the   most   magnificent   works. 


IV. 


To  these  three  vows,  you  must  join  the 
Eucharistic  consecration  of  your  personality, 
or  the  gift  of  self,  which  is  the  end  and 
the   perfection   of   your   vocation. 

The  soul  of  this  gift  is  the  entire  and 
unreserved  donation  of  your  whole  being  to 
the  service  and  the  glory  of  the  God  of 
the  Eucharist,  as  His  true  and  happy  servant, 
who  desires  to  love  Him  for  Himself,  and 
WHO  seeks  no  other  gain  than  Himself,  His 
better  service,  no  other  happiness  than  to 
behold  Him  known,  loved,  and  served  by 
everyone. 

Love  this  Eucharistic  gift  as  a  man  loves 


594  THE    SPIRIT   OF   THE   VOWS 

his  life;  for  if  you  are  a  religious  by  the 
vows  of  poverty,  chastity,  and  obedience,  this 
Eucharistic  gift  makes  you  practise  them  in 
the  spirit  proper  to  your  holy  vocation  of 
Servant  of  the  Most  Blessed  Sacrament.  It 
is  the  sap  and  the  form  of  your  vovvs.  This 
gift  offers  and  sacrifices  to  your  only  Master 
the  merit  and  the  glory  of  all  their  acts. 
It  is  the  holocaustal  fire  which  consumes 
the  victim  entirely  in  God.  It  is  the  blessed 
chain  which  attaches  you,  binds  you  interior- 
ly to  the  throne  of  the  Divine  Lamb.  It 
makes  you  His  property.  His  member.  His 
organ.  By  it  Jesus  alone  becomes  the  prin- 
ciple that  moA'es  your  thought,  will,  and  action 
He  alone  becomes  the  end  of  your  aciions. 
your  merits,  and  your  sufferings.  WTiat  an 
admirable  union!  How  near  it  brings  you 
to  Jesus-Hostia!  What  do  I  say?  Through 
grace,  it  makes  of  Him  and  of  you  but 
one    same    victim,    one    mystical    being. 

But  remember,  also,  that  it  obliges  you 
to  a  more  perfect  service,  a  greater  love, 
a  more  generous  devotedness.  JS'oblesse  oblige ! 
You  must  return  to  the  Lord  all  the  interest 


I 


AND   THE    GIFT    OF    SELF  595 

of   the    rich    capital    that    He    has    entrusted 
to  you. 

But  how  shall  you  recognize  in  yourself 
the  true  service  of  Jesus?  By  ever  ready 
good-will,  by  holy  joy  of  soul,  by  peace  in 
your  vocation,  by  desiring  nothing  excepting 
to  love  more  and  serve  better  your  Lord  and 
your  God,  and  by  spiritual  hunger  and  thirst 
for  His  greater  glory. 

Your  service  is  the  service  of  adoration 
toward  the  Divine  Person  of  Our  Lord.  It 
is,  consequently,  whatever  there  is  in  itself 
thp  most  perfect.  It  is  a  life  and  a  service 
of  immolation  to  God.  You  must  perpetual- 
ly immolate  self.  Be  attentive  to  the  small- 
est service.  It  is  God  everywhere.  Every- 
where He  is  to  be  served  with  the  same 
dependence,  the  same  devotedness.  What 
makes  the  perfection  of  an  action  is  not  what 
it  appears,  but  the  love  with  which  it  is 
done.  Serve  Him,  then,  with  your  whole 
self. 

Jesus  in  His  tabernacle  is  our  Friend;  upon 
the  altar,  He  is  our  Victim;  but  upon  His 
throne,  Hejs  the  King  of  heaven  and  earth. 


596  THE   SPIRIT   OF  THE  VOWS 

Vour  graces,  your  virtues,  your  good  works 
— all  belong  not  to  you.  All  that  you  do 
here  is  for  your  Master.  Labor  not  for  self. 
Destroy,  sacrifice  your  personality  of  Adam, 
and  put  Our  Lord  in  its  place.  Then  say 
"  It  is  no  longer  I  who  live.  It  is  Jesus 
Christ  who  lives  in  me.  "  If  you  serve  Our 
Lord  for  yourselves,  you  pervert  grace,  you 
blight  it.  The  grace  of  God  is  God's.  Noth- 
ing belongs  to  you.  All  is  His,  the  heart, 
the  mind,  the  body,  and  time  itself.  He 
wants  all.  You  have  resolved  to  be  faithful 
to  Him,  then  do  not  rob  Him  of  anything. 
And  when  you  fulfil  that  resolution,  still 
say:    "I    am   a   useless  servant!" 

But  it  is  not  enough  to  live  for  Jesus,  to 
give  and  consecrate  to  Him  all  that  we 
have,  all  that  we  are.  We  must  live  of 
Jesus,  of  His  Eucharistic  life,  for  Jesus  is 
living  in  His  sacramental  state,  there  He 
leads  a  life  proper  to  the  Eucharist.  What 
is  this  life? 

It  is  a  life  of  death.  Behold  Jesus  is 
dead  to  everything  in  this  world,  its  goods,  its 
pleasures.    He    no    longer    has    any     natural 


AND   THE    GIFT   OF   SELF  597 

relations  with  anyone.  He  no  longer  speaks 
the  language  of  men.  He  allows  us  no  longer 
to  gaze  on  His  beautiful  countenance  of 
Saviour,  on  His  gentle,  fatherly  eyes.  He 
wills  that  His  Person  should  no  longer  come 
under  the  action  of  our  senses,  although 
He  is  there  perfect  Man,  living  wit;h  all 
His  members  and  human  organs.  He  wills 
to   live,   but   in  a  state  of  death. 

Be  like  your  good  Master,  dead  to  the 
world.  For  the  future,  desire  only  one  thing, 
to  be  known,  to  be  loved  tut  by  God  alone. 
For  that,  live  of  His  sacramental  grace. 
Reproduce  it;  in  yourselves  by  veiling  your 
good  works,  by  veiling  your  virtues,  -by 
veiling  your  natural  qualities,  as  well  as  your 
supernatural    gifts. 

See  in  Jesus  sacramental  the  virtues  you 
ought  to  practise.  Appropriate  them  to  your- 
selves and  complete  them  in  yourselves.  Yes, 
the  Eucharistic  virtues  are  incomplete  in  this 
sense,  that  Jesus  can  no  longer  perform  their 
meritorious  acts,  and  that  He  takes  but  their 
state.  Thus,  His  Body  can  no  longer  give 
to    the    virtue    of    mortification    the    life    of 


598  THE    SPIRIT   OF   THE   VOWS 

suffering  which  is  its  aliment,  since  He  is 
glorified  and  impassible.  Humiliation  can  no 
longer  abase  Him  and  make  Him  practise 
meritorious  humility.  Real  sacrifice  can  no 
longer  immolate  His  life  and  shed  His  Blood. 
His  Heart  loves,  but  no  longer  feels  the 
sorrows  of  love,  as  in  the  Garden  of  Olives. 
His  charity  opens  the  bosom  of  mercy  to 
all  the  miserable;  but  it  is  necessary  to  lead 
the  sinner  to  Him  for  He  can  no  longer 
run  after  Him  as  He  once  did.  He  sup 
plicates  the  Father  for  us  by  showing  Him 
His  sacred  Wounds,  but  they  are  now  lumin- 
ous and  glorified,  nor  do  they  any  longer 
pour  out  that  Blood  which  goes  up  to  God 
as  the  cry  and  the  mcense  of  repairing 
love. 

What,  then,  is  wanting  to  Jesus?  May  you 
complete  Him,  may  you  give  Him  a  heart 
which  can  be  sad,  a  body  that  suffers!  To 
save  and  to  repair,  He  has  need  of  your 
sorrows,    of  your  passion,    of   your;  blood! 

Saint  Paul  m  crucifying  himself,  said:  "  I 
till  up  in  my  flesh  those  things  that  arc 
wanting  of  the  sufferings  of  Christ  "    Ah!  in 


AND   THE    GIFT    OF    SELF  599 

what  way?  By  suffering  and  sacrifice,  which 
associate  me  and  unite  me  to  the  infinite 
merits  of  the  Saviour's  sufferings. 

Behold  to  what  the  gift  of  personality- 
engages  you:  to  be  the  members,  the  merit 
ing,  obedient,  and  suffering  nature  of  Jesus 
who  will  offer  it  to  His  Father  in  sacrifice 
for  His  glory,  for  the  salvation  of  souls, 
and   for    the   interests    of    His   Church 

Live,  then,  of  Jesus,  for  Jesus,  not  as 
the  day-laborer  who  looks  for  his  wageis  at 
the  close  of  each  day's  work,  not  as  the 
hired  servant  who  serves  for  a  time,  in  order 
to  have  an  independent  position  later  on.  No, 
sei-ve  Jesus  without  wages,  without  free  days 
without  days  of  rest,  without  consolation 
without  glory.  Serve  Him  for  Himself,  as 
the  candle  that  burns  and  consumes  itself 
without  noise,  without  interruption  before  the 
Sacred  Host,  leaving  not  even  some  ashes 
after  it  I 


*^^ 


^Jj£3flfe5^^2&Sa2S£^»Si^ig.!aSs£^^^^Sfc^S56 


The  VIRTUE  of  the  GIFT 


of  SELF  : 


THE  HUMILITY  of  LOVE. 


n 


s  adoratnces,  what,  in  practice,  should 
be  your  special  and  characteristic  vir- 
tue? It  should  be  the  humility  of  the  love  of 
Our  Lord.  It  is  only  by  this  virtue  that  you 
will  please  your  good  Master,  only  by  it  that 
you  will  be  good  adoratrices,  and  happy  in 
vour  vocation.  By  the  gift  of  self,  you  pledge 
yourselves  to  be  nothing,  either  in  yourselves 
or  in  others.  Humility  alone  wUl  mamtain  you 
in  this  nothingness,  which  is  the  all  in  all  of 
Our  Lord.  And  then,  it  is  the  virtue  of  love, 
its  proper  virtue.  In  the  Eucharist,  Our  Lord 
loves  us  even  to  excess,  and  that  is  the 
reason  He  gives  Himself  in  It  m  the  excess 
of  annihilation.  He  must  fmd  in  us  a  heart 
that  loves  what  He  loves,  for  He  has  said. 
"  Learn  of  Me  that  I  am  meek  and  humble 
of  Heart.  " 

If   you   do  not    possess   humility,   you   will 
not   long   remain  pure,   because  pride  sullies 


THE     HUMILITY    OF    LOVE  j     601 

the  soul.  You  may  be  charitable  as  much 
as  one  can  be  with  pride;  you  may  have 
the  virtues  of  purity,  mortification,  and  zeal, 
but  if  they  are  not  all  guarded  and  nourished 
by  humihty,  they  are  lost.  Pride  dissipates 
all  and  prevents  your  virtues  from  having 
consistency. 

You  will  remain  in  Eucharistic  grace  only 
by  humility.  This  virtue  is  the  dmvry  of 
love.  You  must  possess  it  in  order  to  go 
to  Our  Lord.  With  every  other  virtue  you 
may  be  able  to  impersonate  self  and  rest 
iji  self;  but  by  humility,  you  disappear  in 
order    to    allow    Our    Lord   alone    to   appear 

Our  Lord  commuricates  Himself  to  us  only 
by  the  way  of  humility.  He  would  be  glad 
to  bestow  on  us  His  gifts  of  tenderness,  of 
contemplation,  and  even  of  ecstasy;  but  on 
account  of  our  want  of  humility,  we  could 
not   bear    them. 

As  Saint  Paul  says  of  Our  Lord,  that,  Ke 
was  exalted,  only  because  He  had  been 
humbled  and  annihilated,  if  you  want  Him  to 
draw  you  to  His  Heart  and  to  load  you 
with  His  favors,  be  truly  humble. 

The  Divine  Eucharist.  39 


602  THE    HUMILITY    OF    LOVE 

If  you  labor  at  humility,  you  labor  at 
true  sanctity.  The  more  humble  you  are 
the  more  holy  you  will  be.  Humility  is  the 
exact   measure,   and   it   never   deceives. 

Humility  is  the  mother,  the  root,  and  the 
flower  of  all  the  Wrtues.  It  is  the  mistress 
of  God's  power,  the  guardian  of  His  treasures 
and  of  all  His  graces. 

Be,  then,  very  humble.  And  with  what 
kind  of  humility?  With  the  perfect  humility 
of  spirit.  This  consists  in  truly  and  sincerely 
believing  yourself  the  last  of  creatures  and 
the  most  miserable  of  all,  deserving  of  hell 
a  thousand  and  a  thousand  times.  Confess 
this  to  God  frequently  and  with  conviction: 
"  Lord,  I  am  not  worthy  of  the  least  of 
Thy  graces,  I  deserve  not  the  last  of  Thy 
attention.  Leave  to  me  the  trials  of  penance, 
for  compared  with  what  I  deserve,  they 
will  be  a  favor.  Leave  me  at  the  door 
of  the  temple,  striking  my  breast  like  the 
publican,   for   that  is   my  place.  " 

Then  you  ought  to  be  content  when  some 
humiliation  comes  to  you,  some  cross,  or 
some  trial   of  any  kind.    Be  always  satisfied 


THE    HUMILITY    OF    LOVE  603 

with  everything,  since  you  know  that  you 
have  deserved  far  more.  In  interior  trials 
and  abandonment  by  God,  above  all,  you 
will  say:  "Lord,  this  is  nothing!  It  is  not 
enough  for  what  I  deserve!"  By  this  you 
will  become  all-powerful  over  the  Heart  of 
God.  " 

If  God  puts  you  on  the  dunghill  of  your  sins 
and  miseries,  and  if  all  creatures  pursue  or 
abandon  you,  learn  how  to  say :  "  I  am  repair- 
ing for  my  sin,  and  I  have  what  is  due 
me.  "  Job  glorified  God  on  his  dunghill  more 
than  upon  his  throne  and,  in  triumphing  over 
himself,   he  tiiumphed  over  God. 

With  this  humility  of  spirit,  you  will  always 
be  content,  never  troubled.  Labor  at  ii 
earnestly. 

Humility  of  heart  must  also  be  acquired 
and  that  is,  to  love  God  in  trial  and  hu 
miliation.  A  humble  soul  has  peace  in  trial. 
Her  ■  heart  suffers,  it  is  true,  but  through 
love  she  wishes  what  God  wills,  bhe  loves 
His  crucifying  will  and,  in  spite  of  all  her 
sorrows,  she  sings:  Fiat  volimtas  iua !  God 
certainly    does    not    ask    us    to    Jove     trials. 


604  THE    HUMILITY    OF    LOVE 

dryness,  and  persecution  for  themselves,  but 
to  love  His  w'll  which  sends  them.  And 
if  we  love  Him,  we  shall  support  them  with 
patience,  in  silence,  and  before  Him  alone. 
This  is  sublime.  We  may  weep,  for  He 
oermits  poor  nature's  tears  to  flow,  but  He 
asks   that   patience   should   sanctify   them. 

Then  the  heart  attached  to  the  will  of 
God,  loves  it  and  prefers  it  to  e\erj  thing 
else.  The  soul,  become  devoted  to  God  who 
is  trying  it,  is  sweet  to\yard  everyone.  She 
says;  *' My  soul,  be  not  sad.  Keep  a  smiling 
countenance,  be  friendly  toward  those  that 
apparently  do  thee  wrong;  for  it  is  not  theu' 
hand  that  touches  thee,  but  the  Hand  cf 
Him  whom  I  desire  to  love,  because  He 
is  always  lovable!"  Be,  then,  humble  cf 
heart,  affection,  and  will.  I  do  not  say  to 
seek  humiliations  or  trials,  but  to  receive  them 
well    whenever    they    present    themselves 

Be  humble  exteriorly  in  word,  in  demeanor, 
everywhere  humbly  modest;  Be  humble  in 
never  seeking  esteem,  and  in  willingly  seemg: 
yourself  deprived  of  it.  The  good  God  permits 
that  the  saints  should  be  calumniated,  derided. 


THE     HUMILITY    OF    LOVE  605 

persecuted.  The  Master  endured  the  same, 
so  it  is  an  lienor  for  you  if  He  makes  you 
pass  along  that  way.  Rejoice  at  it,  I  say 
to  you,  for  to  be  honored  is  to  expose 
glory  that  God  has  placed  in  you  and 
which  He  expects  you  to  return  to  Him 
faithfully.  Rejoice,  then,  when  you  are  for- 
gotten, when  they  treat  you  with  disdain, 
when  they  despise  you,  even  when  ihiy 
calumniate  you.  You  are  then  in  your  royal 
virtue,  the  humility  of  Our  Lord. 

Now,  to  acquire  it,  continued  labor  i; 
necessary.  No  one  reaches  the  perfe:tion  of 
this  beautiful  virtue,  so  never  give  yourselves 
any  rest,  but  always  tend  toward  it  with 
all  your  strength.  The  good  God  will  afford 
you  constant  occasions  for  it  and  He  will 
give  also   the  grace   to  use  them  well. 

It  is  a  duty  ever  to  humble  yourselves,  for 
this  virtue  like  love  may  always  be  exercised. 
It  knows  no  obstacle.  There  is  a  lime  for 
penitential  works  and  for  works  of  charity 
but  there  is  none  for  the  practice  of  humility 
which,  if  it  cannot  always  be  practised 
exteriorly,  can  be  cultivated  by  the  sentiment 


606  THE    HUMILITY    OF    LOVE 

and  the  knowledge  of  what  you  are  before 
God.  Place  your  soul  in  a  state  of  humility. 
and  continually  keep  it  there  by  interior  acts 
of  personal  abasement. 

Behold  your  virtue!  Without  humility,  you 
will  never  be  adora^rices.  It  must  become 
your  dominant  and  characteristic  virtue.  There 
is  no  piety  without  humility,  no  good  prayer, 
no  adoration  in  spirit  and  truth,  since  hu 
mility  is  the  rule  of  all  this.  If  some  great 
virtue  were  demanded  of  you,  such  as  fortitude, 
magnanimity,  and  penitence  you  might  say 
"  I  am  not  capable  of  mounting  so  high  " 
But  here  there  is  question  of  descending, 
for  humility  is  the  nrtue  of  weakness,  poverty, 
and  ignorance,  and  you  cannot  say  that  yoj 
are  incapable  of  descending. 

You  should,  therefore,  constantly  have  hu- 
mility in  view  as  the  indispensable  means 
of  your  vocation.  But  to  labor  at  it  in  view 
of  your  own  misery  and  humiliation  is  not 
enough  to  acquire  it  well.  There  is  a  better 
means,  and  that  is,  to  love  Our  Lord  ii  His  ■ 
humiliations.  If  you  love  Him,  you  will  live 
in  Him.     Now,  He  summarizes  Himself  entire 


THE    HUMILITY    OF    LOVE  607 

ly  in  these  words:  "I  am  humble  of  Heart.  " 
If  you  love  Our  Lord,  you  will  love  what 
He  loves.  He  loves  humility  and  humiliation. 
His  characteristic   is   humility. 

We  should  honor  Our  Lord  in  the  manner 
and  the  virtue  that  He  shows  us  in  the 
Blessed  Sacrament.  Now,  which  is  the  virtue 
that  He  constantly  practises  there,  constantly 
and  openly  teaches  there  to  all,  even  to 
the  most  ignorant?  Humility,  annihilation. 
He  is  more  humiliated  there  than  in  His 
birth,  His  life,  even  His  death.  His  annihila- 
tion there  veils  and  buries  all.  His  Divinity, 
His  Humanity,  His  words,  and  His  actions. 
If,  then,  you  desire  to  honor  Him,  as  is 
the  essential  duty  of  your  vocation,  honor 
Him  in  His  state  of  humility,  imitate  Him 
in  what  He  actually  is.  He  has  descended 
lower  than  man,  lower  than  the  slave,  lower 
than  the  least  of  animated  beings,  since  He 
is  only  a  thing,  an  appearance  of  bread 
destined  to  be  eaten  and  destroyed.  Descend, 
then,  in  order  to  find  Him  where  He  is. 
Vou  must  glorify  Our  Lord  humble,  make 
for    Him    a    throne    of    self,    put    self    'mder 


608  THE    HUMILITY    OF    LOVE 

His  feet.  Oh,  how  low  He  is!  Whatever 
you  may  do,  you  will  never  be  lower  than 
Our  Lord.  Descend,  descend  always,  to  honor 
and  love  Him  by  your  humility  and  "your 
own   annihilation. 

Why  is  He  so  humbled?  In  order  to 
show  us  that  He  loves  ns,  in  order  to  glorify 
His  Father,  and  to  repair  human  pride.  Ah, 
well !  do  you,  also,  glorify  God  by  your  humil- 
ity, love  Our  Lord  even  so  far  as  annihilating 
self,  and  abase  yourselves  for  so  many  souls 
that  wish  not  to  humble  themselves.  Our 
Lord  bears  in  Himself  the  punishment  of 
their  pride.  You  must  come  to  His  aid  and 
help  Him  by  wearing  with  Him  His  mantle 
of   humiliation. 

The  Heavenly  Father  says  to  you:  "  I 
have  given  you  My  Son  in  this  state  of 
Eucharistic  annihilation  in  order  to  show 
you  how  much  He  loves  you  and  abases 
Himself  for  you.  Return  to  Him  what  He 
has  done  for  you.  Humble  yourself.  Es- 
pouse His  humility  which  He  has  not  willed 
to    renounce    even    in    His    glorified    state ! ' 

Ask  Our  Lord   earnestly  for   His  spirit  of 


THE     HUMILITY    OF    LOVE.  609 

Eucharistic  humility,  of  which  you  have  the: 
model  always  under  your  eyes.  His  Pres- 
ence gives  you  the  grace  of  it.  Hold  it 
in  love  and  practise  it  faithfully.  May  every 
pulsation  of  your  heart  say  to  God :  "  Give 
me  humility  1  Make  me  humble  I  Make  me 
love  humiliation!  " 

Exercise  yourselves  thcrem  every  day.  la 
the  morning,  in  the  examen  of  foresight, 
determine  upon  some  acts  of  it  during  the 
day.  Use  up  successively  all  the  acts  and 
all  the  application  of  humility  of  heart,  of 
mind,  of  body.  Here  is  work  for  a  long- 
time, and  you  will  not  be  at  a  loss  to  know 
what  resolution  to  take. 

1  have  told  you:  "Will  you  please  Our 
Lord  and  enter  into  the  very  essence  of  your 
vocation? — Give  to  Him  your  perionality.  " 
To-day,  I  add:  "Will  you  perservere  in  this 
gift?  You  can  do  so  only  by  constant 
humility.  Humility  must  be  the  aliment  of 
this  gift.  If  you  are  always  humble,  you 
will  go  on  always  ^giving  yourself,  since  by 
humility  you  go"  out  of  self,  descend  from 
self,    in    order   to    give   place  Jo    Our    Lord. 


610 


THE    HUMILITY    OF    LOVE 


The  practical  virtue  of  the  gift  of  self  is, 
then,  humility  Undertake  it  with  all  your 
heart. 


The  SUPERNATURAL  LIFE.    ^ 


[here  is  one  capital  question  in  the  service 
of  God,  in  the  work  of  your  own 
perfection,  which 'takes  the  lead  of  all  others, 
and  which  is  their  life,  and  that  is,  do,  you 
know  whether  you  liVe  the  supernatural  life. 
Whether  you  liv'e  of  the  grace  and  of  the 
life  itself  of  Our  Lord.  You  understand  that 
it  would  be  the  greatest  of  misfortunes  to 
live  naturally  in  a  vocation  so  filled  with 
graces  and  love,  and  there  find  the  means  of 
paralyzing  the  grace  of  God 

Tbe  question  thus  presents  itself:  We  are 
going  from  earth  to  heaven.  God  has  created 
us  for  this  divine  end.  Earth  is  only  a 
preparation  Where  we  receive  the  means 
suited  to  our  end,  and  which  are,  conse- 
quently, divine.  It  is  the  grace  of  Our  Lord 
that  really  elevates  the  life  of  man  to  a 
state  supernatural  and  divine.  We  receive 
the  capability  of  living  in  a  supernatural 
state,  of  thinking,  of  loving,  of  acting  super- 
natarally.  and  of  leading  upon  this  earth 
the    life    itself    of    God,    the    life    of    heaven. 


612  THE    SUPERNATURAL    LIFE 

according  to  the  word  of  Saint  Paul:   "  Our 
life    is    in    heaven. " 

"  Our  life  is  in  heaven.  "  God  un- 
ceasingly gives  us  this  grace.  The  Sacraments 
of  the  Church  are  only  to  increase  and 
renew  it.  But  do  you  know  that,  environed 
by  graces,  living  in  a  holy  state,  laboring 
much,  we  may,  notwithstanding,  act  only 
naturally?  In  that  case,  we  are  doiag  nothing 
for  the  glory  of  God,  and  gaining  nothing 
for  heaven.  Oh!  that  is  a  frightful  power 
we  possess  of  corrupting  the  grace  of  God 
and  of  -performing  the  best  works  through 
ourselves  and  in  a  natural  manner,  instead  of 
doing  them  through  Him  and  through  His 
grace. 

Those  that  live  in  the  most  pious  sur- 
roundings fall  so  much  the  more  easily  into 
this  defect,  for  they  are  blinded  by  appear- 
ances. What  deceives,  what  abuses,  what 
brings  on  the  change,  and  keeps  them  in 
the  natural  life,  is  that  they  taste  more 
joy  in  it,  find  more  peace  in  the  good 
works  that  they  perform  ia  the  natural  spirit, 
by   following   their    own    inclination,    than   in 


THE    SUPERNATURAL    LIFE  613 

those  they  do  supernaturally.  This  satisfac- 
tion deceives  many  souls.  They  look  upon 
it  as  an  approval  from  God,  but  what  a 
deception!  Do  we  not  see  many  Christians 
who  are  in  a  state  of  sin  owing  to  the 
omission  of  essential  duties,  who  do  not 
confess,  do  not  make  their  Easter,  and  yet 
who  are  tranquil  and  happy?  They  have 
preserved  some  Christian  habits,  they  say 
their  prayers,  go  to  Mass,  fulfil  very  well 
the  duties  of  their  state.  They  are  in  peace, 
they  are  happy.  But  remorse? — They  do  not 
feel  it,  and  that  is  tbe  reward  for  the  natural 
good  they  do,  but  a  natural  recommense, 
also.  It  is  the  peace  of  the  Jews,  the  hap- 
piness of  time.  They  are  deceived  by  it, 
and  are  astonished  wheh  some  one  speaks  to 
them  of  conversion.  You  are  not  in  that  state. 
But  only  see  how  such  persons'  happiness  in 
what  they  do,  is  subject  to  illusion.  When 
after  performing  some  act,  you  are  carried 
away  by  natural  joy,  very  frequently  you 
may  say:  "Ohl  this  is  my  reward,  for  I 
have  nothing  more  to  expect  in  heaven! " 
To    work    from    a    natural     motive,    is    to 


614  THE    SUPERNATURAL    LIFE 

gather  into  a  pierced  sack  that  can  hold 
nothing. 

But  what,  then,  is  it  to  live  naturally?  It 
is  to  labor  for  self,  to  be  the  end  of  one's 
actions,  instead  of  doing  them  for  God.  It 
is  to  act  by  the  movement  of  one's  own 
inclination,  of  one's  own  self-love,  to  seek 
self,  our  own  rest,  our  own  natural  advantage 
in  what  we  do. 

You  are  natural  if  you  are  sensual  in 
mind,  seeking  to  satisfy  its  curiosity;  in 
your  heart,  if  you  seek  to  pour  it  out,  to 
rest  in  the  affection  of  the  creature,  or 
even  it  you  allow  yourself  to  be  dejected 
when  God  withdraws  from  you  His  con- 
solations; in  your  body,  if  you  allow  yourself 
to  become  indolent  and  to  seek  after  repose. 
You  are  natural  if  you  do  not  accept  the 
states  in  which  God  places  you,  dryness, 
temptations,  sufferings;  if  instead  of  accept- 
ing them  patiently,  you  say  with  impatience: 
"Oh.   I   wish   I   were  happy!" 

Fear  this  natural  life!— What  I  you  have 
left  the  riches  and  pleasures  of  the  world 
to  give  yourself  to  God    and  now  you  would 


THE    SUPERNATURAL    LIFE  615 

have    the    secret    of    losing   all    by    laboring 
for    yourself    alone? 

Our  poor  Ego  is  the  root  of  the  natural 
life.  It  is  self-love  that  wants  to  be  its 
own  end  and  to  enjoy  whatever  it  does. 
No,  follow  Our  Lord  and  bear  His  Cross. 
He    who    bears    his    Cross    does    not    enjoy. 

Faith  is  necessary  for  the  supernatural  life; 
but  it  alone  does  not  suffice,  for  it  may 
be  found  even  in  the  sinner,  and  whatever 
the  sinner  does,  counts  not  for  heaven.  His 
works  are  wanting  in  the  divine  life,  which 
supposes,  above  all,  the  state  of  grace, 
freedom  from  all  mortal  sin. 

The  supernatural  life  consists,  first,  in  the 
state  of  grace,  in  being  a  friend  of  God, 
and  in  living  in  that  state  of  active  faith 
which  operates  through  charity.  Did  a  per 
son  aim  at  but  one  thing  in  his  life,  name- 
ly, the  keeping  of  himself  in  the  state 
of  grace,  that  would  be  perfection,  because 
that  would  suppose  excessive  care  not  to 
offend  God.  The  state  of  grace,  then, 
makes  us  practise  all  the  virtues,  for  the 
Holy  Spirit,   who   would  dwell   in  us,   would 


610  THE    SUPERNATURAL    LrFI> 

constantly  excite  our  will,  and  make  us  in 
ccssantly  produce  holy  acts,  as  ground  well 
dug  and  sown  faithfully  yields  its  fruit. 
The  itate  of  grace  \  ivifies  everything.  By 
perfecting  icseif.  \t  perfects  everything  Cer- 
taia  myst'.cs  say  'It  is  sufficient  that  you 
always  preserve  your  state  of  grace,  for  all 
that  you  do  under  us  influence  will  be  pure 
and  supernatural.  The  state  sanctifies  the 
acts.  "  As  m  Our  Lord  :he  union  of  .the 
Person  of  :hc  Word  with  His  Humanity 
elevates  His  least  'works,  making  of  them 
divine  works,  so,  if  you  are  in  a  state  of 
grace,  and  you  act  by  virtue  of  this  state, 
all  that  you  do  is  good  and  meritorious 
before  God. 

Be  ihac  as  it  may,  an  intention  is  nec- 
essary to  supernaturalize  our  actions.  Which 
intention  is  necessary,   for  there  are  several? 

Some  wish  to  act  by  a  supernatural  and 
actjal  intention,  so  that  before  every  action 
they  ought  to  say,  at  least  interiorly.-  ''My 
God,  I  offer  Thee  this  thought,  this  action, 
for  such  or  such  a  supernatural  motive,  " 
for    a    motive    of    any    virtue,    it    matters    not 


THE    SUPERNATURAL   LIFE  617 

which,  suffices.  If  it  be  the  motive  of  love, 
it  will  be  perfect. 

Nevertheless,  this  actual  intention  is  dif- 
ficult to  have  always,  and  so,  many  declarei 
that  the  virtual  intention  is  sufficient.  We 
act  by  a  virtual  intention  when  the  action 
that  we  are  performing  proceeds  from  an 
antecedent  act  of  the  will,  which  has  once 
been  made  and  which  still  lasts  in  its  in- 
fluence and  force.  Thus  if  one  offers  to  God 
in  the  morning  through  love  all  the  actions 
of  hb  day,  that  would  be  sufficient  to  turn 
all  his  actions  into  love  provided  he  did 
.not  retract  the  first  intention,  and,  that  the 
act  be  good  in  itself  and  pleasing  to  God; 
and  so  of  the  other  virtues.  The  virtual 
intention  may  last  more  than  a  day  in  certain 
cases  in  which  the  mind  is  powerfully  affect- 
ed, as  in  time  of  pain  or  trial.  It  may  sanctify 
all  the  sufferings  of  that  cross  without  its  be- 
ing formulated  again  before  each  in  particular. 

Some  are  of  opinion  that  the  virtual  in- 
tention is  all  sufficient.  It  is  that  which 
acts  no  longer  on  the  action  performed, 
but    which,    having    been    made    beforehand 


618  THE    SUPERNATURAL    LIFE 

and  not  having  been  positively  retracted, 
is  understood  by  that  fact  alone  still  to 
last.  In  this  case,  the  state  of  grace  in  itself 
alone,  without  any  need  of  other  motives. 
suffices  to  render  meritorious  and  supernatural 
all  the  actions  performed  by  the  just,  all  their 
good  and  \artuous  actions  of  whatever  virtue 
they   may  be. 

W'ithout  doubt,  it  is  becter  to  aim  at 
having  a  supernatural  intention  either  actual 
or  virtual.  But  the  opinion  just  given  is 
very  encouraging,  and  greatly  mcreases  the 
power    and    nobility    of    the    state    of    grace. 

Great  vigilance  is,  then,  necessary  to  shun 
voluntary  sins.  A  sin  of  weakness  does  not 
entirely  destroy  the  intention.  It  interrupts 
it,  but  it  can  be  renewed-  But  those  com- 
mitted through  bad  will  and  affection  to 
sin  paralyze  the  state  of  grace  and  lead  to 
its  loss  by  mortal  sin. 

Keep  yourselves  pure,  therefore,  so  that 
all  you  do  may,  also,  be  pure. 

I  want  nothing  exaggerated  but,  on  the 
other  hand,  nothing  relaxed.  I  say  to  you 
also-  Think  as  frequendy  as  you  can  about 


THE    SUPERNATURAL   LIFE  619 

renewing-  your  supernatural  intention.  Do  it, 
above  all,  at  the  change. of  action.  You  are 
in  a  holy  and  supernatural  state,  I  know, 
but.  it  is  safer  to  gather  new  strength  repeat- 
edly, and  produce  according  to  your  occupa- 
tion as  many  acts  as  possible.  Without  this, 
the  habitual  intention,  even  the  virtual  in- 
tention, languishes  and  becomes  incapable 
of  supernaturaliiing  our  actions.  Hence,  how 
many  merits  lost!  Our  actions  may,  indeed, 
be  relatively  good,  but  they  do  not  merit 
eternal , recompense. 

Again,  act  as  much  as  you  can  according 
to  the  perfection  of  your  state  of  grace, 
which  is  a  state  of  charity  and  love  for 
God,  and  which  entertains  in  the  soul  the  Holy 
Spirit  who  resides  there.  Is  it  not  right  to 
act  as  frequently  as  possible  through  the 
proper  virtue  of  this  state  namely,  through 
love?  Then  the  soul  desires  not  only  not 
to  displease  God,  but  to  please  Him,  to  be 
agreeable  to  Him  by  doing  what  she  can 
in  the  best  possible  way.  She  is  always  seek- 
ing the  most  perfect,  because  she  kno\vs 
that  is  more  pleasing  to  God.    Such  or  such 


620  THE    SUPERNATURAL    LIFE 

a  thing  is  neither  necessary  nor  commanded, 
but  she  will  do  it  to  please  God.  That  is 
sufficient  for  her.  It  is  her  word  of  command, 
her    inspiration. 

The  soul  then  fears  sin,  the  least  sin, 
not  so  much  on  account  of  its  deformity 
as  of  the  good  of  which"  it  deprives  her, 
because  it  displeases  God,  wounds  His  love 
and    offends    the    delicacy    of    friendship. 

Heroism  does  not  consist  in  not  displeasing, 
but  in  always  pleasing.  This  is  the  point 
at  which  you  must  arrive.  It  is  the  perfection 
of  the  Christian  life,  of  the  life  of  grace. 

Let  us.  then,  live  in  this  thought  of  pleasing 
God  in  order  never  to  displease  Him,  and 
for  that  end  let  us  walk  ever  in  His  pres- 
ence. And  this  presence  is  not  far  from 
us.  It  is  our  very  selves,  living,  acting. 
It  IS  the  Real  Presence  of  God,  of  the 
Holy  Spirit,  of  Jesus.  Let  us  fi.x  the  gaze 
of  our  heart  upon  It,  permitting  ourselves 
to  be  distracted  from  It  neither  by  persons 
nor  things.  Wc  shall  then  know  what  God 
wills  and  wliat  He  wills  not,  and  His  known 
good    pleasure    will    be    sufficient    for    us. 


I 


The   PURITY  of  LOVE. 


^ 

loD  has  loved  us  with  a  love  infinite, 
perpetual,  eternal.  You  know  the  proofs 
of  it,  you  have  seen  them,  and  the  conclu- 
sion is  that  you  ought  to  love  Him  with 
all  your  strength. 

The  first  condition  of  this  love  is  to  be 
pure  and  not  to  offend  Him.  We  must 
reach  that  degree  of  the  love  of  the  good 
God  at  which  one  unhesitatingly  avoids  all 
that  displeases  Him.  If  you  do  not  possess 
this  refinement^  you  do  not  love  Him.  It 
is  the  commencement  and  the  essential  con- 
dition of  love.  If  you  desire  to  love  Him 
perfectly,  give  yourself  to  Him  and  yoii 
will  attain  the  highest  degree  of  love  by 
giving  your  personality,  by  renouncing  for 
the  love  of  God  all  that  you  have  and 
all  that  you  are,  by  reserving  nothing  for 
self,  by  keeping  nothing  for  self,  and  by 
never  considering  self  in  anything.  This  is 
to  give  one's  self  to,  God  for  God.  Desire 
no  other  honor  than  that  of  serving  Him. 
no  other  consolation  than  that  of  loving  Him. 


622  THE     PURITY     OF     LOVE 

Reject  all  that  others  might  want  to  give 
you  as  to  you,  to  you  as  a  centre,  and 
refer  all  to  Our  Lord.  You  should  exercise 
yourself  in  this  incessantly,  and  render  glory 
to  God  by  your  whole  self. 

By  the  gift  of  personality,  you  make  an 
exchange,  you  put  the  Person  of  Jesus  Christ 
in  the  place  of  your  own.  and  you  become 
no  longer  anything  but  His  member,  His 
organ.  You  have  given  yourselves  thus  to 
Him.  you  no  more  belong  to  yourselves. 
Oh!  do  not  take  self  back  through  honor, 
consolation,  esteem,  affection,  and  self-love. 
For  this  a  great  grace  of  humility  is  needed, 
you  must  possess  this  virtue  in  the  very 
depths  of  your  being  Humility — what  is  tha! 
but  a  participation  in  the  state  of  Our  Lord, 
who  13  always  giving  Himself  and,  for  that 
end,  always  humbling  Himself,  annihilating 
Himself^  Hence,  all  that  is  humble  is  the 
life  of  Our  Lord  m  you,  and  all  that  comes 
to  you  of  humiliation,  annihilation,  is  only 
a  little  reflection  of  what  Our  Lord  Has 
suffered.  If  creatures  and  God  Himself  unite, 
and   everything  goes  against  you — oh,   what 


THE     PURITY     OF     LOVE  623 

a  favor  1  The  Heavenly  Father  is  beginning 
to  treat  you  as  He  did  His  Divine  Son.  Thank 
Him  heartily,  for  it  is  a  favor.  God  is 
going  to  see  whether  you  love  Him,  for 
humiliation   is   the  life   of   divine   love 

It  is,  then,  necessary  to  be  humble  of 
heart,  mind,  will,  body,  and  life.  This  is 
the  only  means  of  truly  testifying  your  love 
for  Our  Lord.  It  is  His  own  life  in  Himself. 
Since  He  is  in  you,  allow  Him  to  live  His 
own  life,  which  is  a  life  of  humiliation 
and  annihilation. 

To-day,  I  am  come  to  ask  another  thing 
of  you.  To  be  pure,  to  be  humble,  is  a 
groat  deal;  but  there  is  need  of  something 
that  will  give  you  strength,  vigor,  and  that 
is,  the  strength,  the  vigor  of  the  love  of 
Our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  Love  is  strength 
itself.    It  .is  stronger  than  death. 

Now,  love  demands  that  we  take  no  com- 
placency outside  of  Our  Lord.  Jesus  Christ 
is  the  last  word  of  love,  its  centre,  its  element, 
its  unique  principle,  and  its  sovereign  end 
alone.  If  you  love  Him  as  He  deserves 
to    be    loved,    you    must    take    no    pleasure 


624  THE     PURITY      OF     LOVE 

outside  of  Him.  This  appears  easy,  and  yet 
it  costs  most;  it  is  perfection  itself,  because 
it   is   love   in   action. 

Will  you  take  no  satisfaction  outside  of 
Our  Lord,  your  Master?  Be  not,  then,  an 
egoist  in  disguise.  You  would  not  commit  an 
act  of  infidelity,  of  indelicacy  in  His  presence! 
This  holds  good  even  in  the  natural  order. 
When  two  friends  love  each  other  Well,  the 
one  cannot  issue  an  imntation  without  includ- 
ing his  friend.  The  well-bred  child  never 
receives  anything  without  running  at  once 
to  show  it  to  its  mother.  A  wife  cannot 
accept  a  gift,  nor  even  a  compliment,  with- 
out sharing  it  with  her  spouse.  A  contrary 
mode  of  acting,  would  insult  him.  In  fine, 
the  first  thought  when  one  loves,  is  to  share, 
to  make  the  beloved  participate  in  all  that 
we  have  and  in  all  that  we  esteem  good 
and    beautiful. 

Now.  I  ask  you,  if  you  love  Our  Lord, 
if  He  is  the  law  of  your  heart  and  of  your 
life,  could  you  taste  any  pleasure  \vithout 
Him?  Could  you  receive  any  delight,  any 
flower  of  love,  of  honor,  or  of  esteem  without 


THE     PURITY     OF     LOVE  625 

offering  it  to  Him?  That  could  not  be! 
You  want  to  love  Him  very  sincerely,  do  you 
not?  Ah!  then,  understand  this  well —  nev- 
er take  any  satisfaction  of  what  kind  soever, 
apart  from-  Our  Lord.  Renounce  every 
pleasure  in  which  He  does  not  share.  This 
appears  to  be  only  justice  and  propriety,  but 
it  is,  also,  the  highest  perfection. 

Now,  for  the  application  of  this  principle. 
Our  Lord  says  to  the  soul  that  loves  Him: 
"'Give  Me  thy  heart,  "  that  is,  all  thy  affec- 
tion, all  thy  love.  The  spouse  of  the  Can- 
ticles says:  "My  Beloved  is  all  mine,  and 
I  am  all  His. "  It  is  not  a  question  of 
merely  soul  and  body,  but  of  every  thought, 
every  affection.  Like  the  Apostles,  we  must 
persevere   with    Our   LorH   in   all   things 

If  you  desire  to  enjoy  nothing  outside 
of  Our  Lord,  you  will  commit  but  very 
few  sins,  and  very  light  ones.  There  may 
be  faults  of  surprise,  of  weakness,  and  of  neg- 
ligence; but  where  there  is  no  satisfaction, 
no  resting  of  the  heart,  no  will  or  sentiment, 
there  is  no  great  malice.  What  makes  the 
malice  and  the  gravity  of  sin,  is  'the  enjoy- 


626  THE     PURITY     OF     LOVE 

ment  that  one  finds  in  it,  because  then  he 
places  his  happiness  and  his  end  out  of 
God. 

Thus,  in  pride,  it  is  the  satisfaction  of  the 
mind  that  is  sought.  Pride  rests  in  self  and 
in  this  sentiment :  They  are  honoring"  me ! 
Voluptuousness  finds  its  heart-satisfaction,  or 
that  of  the  senses,  in  reciprocal  testimonies  of 
love.  It  reposes  therein  and  enjoys.  This  is 
what  forms  the  malice  of  those  sins  as  of  all 
others.  And  that  which  is  punished,  that 
which  burns  in  hell  and  in  purgatory,  is  the 
satisfaction,  the  enjoyment  that  men  have 
sought  to  draw  from  contempt  of  the  Supreme 
Being,  who  is  God. 

If.  then,  you  wish  to  enjoy  nothing  without 
Our  Lord,  you  will  be  very  pure,  you  will 
fly  those  personal  satisfactions  that  create 
natural  sympathies,  you  will  be  on  your  guard 
against  sensuality  of  the  heart,  which  is 
nothing  else  than  the  satisfaction  felt  by 
the  heart  in  things  natural  and  sensible, 
or  to  put  it  in  other  words,  in  the  creature. 

Vo\L  will,  also,  be  very  humble  if  you 
renounce    every    satisfaction    outside    of    Our 


THE     PURITY     OF     LOVE  627 

Lord,  for  the  foundation  of  pride  is  only 
the  satisfaction  of  mind,  its  complacency  in 
its  own  self-esteem  or  in  the  esteem  of  others. 
Be  on  your  guard,  also,  to  take  no  sensual 
pleasure.  The  sensual  man  in  you  is  always 
seeking  to  enjoy.  You  must"  reject  every 
temptation  that  he  stirs  up  in  you.  You 
must  be  very  watchful  to  avoid  everything 
that  can  give  evil  or  imperfect  satisfaction, 
as  .well  as  all  that  might  prove  a  temptation. 
All  that  must  be  torn  away  from  self,  and 
you  must  ever  be  on  your  guard,  even 
in  things  the  most  legitimate  and  necessary 
in  life,  against  every  sensual  idea  and  enjoy- 
ment. Thus,  for  example,  in  eating,  there  is 
danger  of  satisfying  taste  and  sensuality 
rather  than  of  eating  through  the  necessity 
of  supporting  life.  What  is  necessary  must 
be  taken  in  obedience  to  God.  It  is  not 
possible  not  to  perceive  the  flavor  of  food. 
It  has  even  been  designed  by  God  that 
the  food  may  have  a  taste  which  will  con- 
tribute to  this  animal  action.  But  we  must 
not  pause  on  it  with  complacency.  This 
pleasure  must  be  restrained  by.  the  mortifica- 


628  THE     PURITY     OF     LOVE 

tion  of  sobriety.  If  we  should  overstep  the 
limits  and  allow  our  taste  to  satisfy  itself, 
there  is  a  venial  sin  of  gluttony.  It  is  the 
same  with  regard  to  the  eyes,  the  ears, 
and  all  the  senses.  We  commit  as  many 
sms  of  sensuality  as  we  take  satisfaction 
in  sensible  things. 

And  yet  we  must  not  entertaio  any 
exaggerated  fear  on  these  pouits.  Nothing 
so  holds  back  the  soul  and  keeps  her  captive 
as  always  to  fear.  Be  delicate,  but  not 
scrupulous.  Go  on  simply  and  frankly.  Do 
not  bind  yourselves  in  the  chain  of  perpetual 
fear  under  pretext  that  temptation  may 
follow.  Be  only  careful  and  vigilant  in 
rejecting  it  as  soon  as  it  presents  itself 

There  are  some  souls  too  lax,  too  slow, 
who  allow  temptation  to  enter  their  heart, 
and  they  complain!  But  you  have  not  been 
vigilant  and  careful,  since  "  you  did  not 
perceive  its  approach.  "  And  if  you  saw  it 
coming,  why  did  you  not  at  once  banish 
it?  Because  it  was  no  great  thing? — You 
are  very  imprudent!  You  allowed  the  spark 
to    rest    on   your    hand    too    long,    and    now 


THE     PURITY     OF     LOVE  629 

you  complain  of  being  burned.  How  foolish 
you  are!  You  should  have  shaken  it  off 
yoar  hand  I  There  has  been,  at  leasf,  some 
fault  of  negligence.  You  were  not  at  your 
post   of   vigilance   and   conscientiousness. 

Behold  the  rule  that  must  be  followed 
with  the  old  man  and  his  sensuality.  We 
shall  be  tormented,  by  him  even  to  the  end. 
He  has  no  faith,  and  he  cares  little  for  our 
good  desires.  He  wants  only  to  enjoy  and,  in 
union  with  the  evil  one,  he  is  constantly 
aiming  at  stealing  something  from  us,  and 
getting   his   share    of    enjoyment. 

When  we  have  escaped  him,  he  tries  to 
disquiet  us,  make  us  return  upon  self  to 
examine  the  temptation'  and  see  how  far 
it  went.  But  take  carel  That  is  a  snare. 
You  have  already  been  scorched,  and  you 
are  picking  up  the  coal  again!  See  how 
under  the  pretext  of  examining,  people 
sully  the  imagination.  They  always  find,  some 
satisfaction  in  reviewing  their  sins  of  sensual- 
ity, even  while  humbling  themselves  for  them. 
Take  care !  You  are  going  to  fill'  your  head 
with    them,   and   you    will    be   persecuted    by 


630  THE     PURITY     OF     LOVE 

them!  Do  not  waste  your  time.  What  need 
have  you  to  know  what  it  was?  Are  you 
sorry  for  having  rejected  it  too  soon  the 
first  time,  without  enjoymg  it?  There  was 
nothing  in  it  then,  but  now  there  is  some 
thing  in  it.  No,  no!  Do  not  put  yourself 
m  the  fog  and  mud  of  your  temptations 
under  pretext  of  humbling  yourself.  That  is 
the  demon's  humility!  .Ascend  the  mountain, 
enlighten  yourself  in  the  love  of  Our  Lord, 
and  leave  all  to  His  mercy  This  is  a  good 
way    to   shun   temptations   against   sensuality. 

Vou  now  know  that  the  first  degree  of 
the  purity  of  love  consists  in  desirmg  outside 
of  God  no  natural  and  sensual  satisfaction. 
The  second  is  to  share  every  good  and 
lawful  satisfaction  witn  Cur  Lord.  This  is 
more  perfect 

There  arc  some  species  of  satisfaction  that 
we  may  very  lawfully  taste  in  the  gifts  of 
God,  but  they  have  a  natural  side  If  we 
share  them  witli  Our  Lord  by  offering  them 
to  Him,  we  purify  and  sanctify  them.  The 
purity  of  love  calls  for  that. 

Vou    feel    the    warm    rays    of    the    sun    in 


THE     PUIIITY     OF     LOVE  631 

the  beautiful  springtime,  you  admire  its 
brilliancy,  and  you  are  glad.  That  is  well  and 
allowable,  but  offer  that  pleasure  to  God,  say- 
ing: "How  good  Thou  art,  O  my  God,  who 
dost  make  this  beautiful  sun  shine  for  me!" 

You  see  in  a  garden  the  beautiful  flowers, 
which  unfold  for  you  thfeir  varied  colors 
mingled  with  such  skill  and  grace,  and  which 
waft  you  their  perfume  like  the  kiss  of 
friendship.  To  enjoy  the  sight,  to  breathe  the 
perfume  is  not  at  all  wrong;  but  think  of 
your.  Spouse,  and  point  out  to  Him  those 
flowers,  saying:  "I  thank  Thee,  my  God  I 
Thou  art  a  good  and  great  artist!"  You 
eat  some  fruit,  and  you  cannot  help  relishing 
its  exquisite  freshness.  It  is  God  who  has 
placed  It  there  for  you,  so  bless  Him  at 
once  for  it-  "By  my  sins,  I  deserve  only 
gall  and  wormwood.  But  Thou  art  kmd, 
and  Thou  givest  me  this  sweetness.  I  thank 
Thee,  O  my  God!"  In  this  way,  you  will 
not  enjoy  natural  goods  naturally  when  you 
enjoy  them  with  Our  Lord. 

A  man  who  lives  by  the  senses,  on  the 
contrary,    takes   pleasure   in   seeing.    He   in- 


632  THE     PURITY     OF     LOVE 

hales  perfumes,  he  tastes  flavors,  but  he 
never  thinks  of  raising  his  eyes  toward  Him 
who  gives  them  to  him.  He  makes  him- 
self his  own  end,  he  enjoys  sensually.  You, 
also,  would  fall  into  the  same  way,  if  you^ 
paused  too  long  to  enjoy  the  excellence 
of  things.  A  little  is  lawful,  but  too  much 
is  sensual.  We  must  always  rest  in  God 
more  than  in  the  thing  He  gives  us.  We 
must  enjoy  the  good  in  passing  while- thank- 
ing God  who  permits  us  these  innocent 
satisfactions,  in  order  to  render,  life's  exile 
less  painful  for  us. 

There  are  some  saints  of  more  austere 
mortification,  who  reject  even  the  satisfaction 
sanctified  by  the  offering  made  to,  God. 
But  there  are  others,  like  Saint  Francis  of 
Assisi  and  Saint  Francis  de  Sales,  who  taste 
the  gifts  of  God  and  God  in  His  gifts. 
Thus  did  David  render  thanks  to  God  for 
all  His  gifts  in  the  beautiful  canticle  of  the 
Benedicite.  They  made  use  of  everything  to 
go  to  God  and  to  thank  Him.  In  al  His 
gifts,  they  saw  an  ever  new  proof  of  His 
goodness. 


THE-     PURITY     OF     LOVE  633 

Saint  Francis  of  Assisi  suffered  much  from 
his  eyes.  Those  around  him  used  to  bathe 
them  in.  cold  water  to  relieve  the  suffering, 
and  the  dear  saint  praised  God  aloud  for 
having  imparted  to  the  water  the  power 
to   refresh  his  burning  pupils^ 

On  another  occasion  when  he  was  sick, 
a  good  lady  was  inspired  by  God  to  pre- 
pare for  him  a  fish  which  she  knew  the 
saint  liked.  At  first,  he  had  the  thought 
not  to  accept  it,  but  to  deprive  himself 
of  it  as  did  David  offering  to  God  the 
cup  of  water  that  a  soldier  had  brought 
him  at  the  peril  of  his  own  life.  But  .on 
second  thought,  he  said:  "No,  that  would 
wound  our  good  daughter,  "  and  he  ate  it, 
giving  thanks  to  God. 

And  so  never  to  pause  in  created  things, 
but  to  find  in  them  wherewith  to  praise 
God  and  to  share  the  pleasure  of  them 
with  Our  Lord — such  is  the  second  degree 
of  the  purity  of  love.  Practise  this  even 
in  spiritual  things.  If  the  good  God  were 
to  send  you  an  angel  to  console  and  help 
you,  and  were  you  to  dismiss  Him,  saying; 

The  Divine  Eucharist.  4t 


634  THE     PURITY     OF     LOVE 

"I  prefer  to  suffer  alone,  I  wish  only  to 
be  crucified,  "  that  would  be  pride  unadul- 
terated. The  angel  should  have  no  sooner 
disappeared  than  you  would  begin  to  lament, 
because  the  demon  would  have  taken  his 
place.  I  mean  by  this  that,  if  the  good 
God  sent  you  the  means  of  receiving  some 
good  counsel,  of  asking  for  enlightenment. 
It  would  be  a  help  from  His  goodness 
Make  use  of  it  simply  and  joyously,  and 
thank  God  for  it.  Then  when  this  messenger 
of  divine  grace  shall  have  ended  his  mission 
to  you.  allow  him  to  depart  without  falling 
into  despondency.  God  remains  to  you! 
Thus  It  was  when  the  archangel  Raphael, 
having  fulfilled  his  mission  to  the  young 
Tobias  and  his  father,  suddenly  disappeared 
from  their  sight.  Instead  of  weeping  and 
lamenting  and  losing  their  time  in  regrets, 
on  account  of  the  advantages  they  had  found 
m  his  presence,  they  fell  on  their  knees 
and.  tor  three  hours,  thanked  the  goodness 
of    God. 

I    permit    you.    tnen,    to    take    all    that    the 
good    God    sends    you.    not    to    enjoy    it    as 


THE     PURITY     OF     LOVE  635 

an  egoist  a»nd  to  place  therein  your  end, 
but  to  find  in  it  matter  to  share  with  Our 
Lord,  and  to  prais?  His  infinite  bounty, 
which  takes  pleasure  iu  giving  us  what  can 
be  of  service  to  us,  or  even  be  agreeable  to  us. 

Still  more,  a  soul  that  loves  the  good 
God  well,  and  that  gives  to  Him  her  per- 
sonality, knows  not  how  to  taste  ariy  joy 
apart  from  Qur  Lord.  She  wishes  to  share 
with  Him  not  only  her  crosses — as  we  know 
so  well  how  to  do  in  order  to  get  rid  of 
them — but  all  her  joys  as  well.  She  can 
no  longer  be  happy  without  Our  Lord.  I 
am  now  speaking  of  the  joys  of  the  soul, 
of  those  joys  that  God  sheds  into  the  soul 
during  prayer,  Communion,  and  after  some 
sacrifice.  She  is  pleased.  She  hastens  to 
tell  it  to  her  Spouse,  for  if  He  did  not 
share  it,  it  would  hold  no  happiness  for  her 

Oh!  it  must  be  said  to  our  shame,  these 
joys  are  so  sweet  to  us,  so  good,  that, 
like  certain  birds  of  prey,  we  would  wish 
to  hide  them  in  a  corner  there  to  enjoy 
them  all  alone.  No,  no,  never  enjoy  them 
alone  1    Without  Our  Lord,  desire  neither  di- 


636  THE     PURITY      OF     LOVE 

vine    favors    nor    celestial    consolations.    Do 
not   rest   in  the  goodness,   sweetness,   beauty 
of   such  iavors    as    in   your   centre.     If   you 
repose    in    them    as    in    your    end     you    dry 
up   their   source.      Instead    of   looking-   at    the 
love    of    the    Heart    of    Jesus,    some    pause 
in   its   rays.    They  attend   only  to   their  con 
solations.   and  not   to  Him  who  gives   them 
Our    Lord    then    closes    His    hand,    suspends 
His   favors,    because    such   souls    do   not   be- 
have with  sufficient  refinement  toward  Him 
We    must    not  -want    to    enjoy    God    without 
God,    but   to   bless   Him,  to   offer  everything 
to  Him,  and  to  behold  Him,  rather  than  all 
the  effects  of  His  grace  that  we  experience. 

Lastly,  the  third  degree  of  the  punty  ot 
love  IS  indifference  to  the  slates  through 
which  God  mshes  to  make  us  pass,  whether 
of  joy  or  of  desolation.  In  the  case  in 
which  we  are  free,  in  which  we  havx  the 
choice,  It  IS  a  generous  will  which  always 
takes  the  most  painful,  the  most  crucifying, 
because  it  was  thus  chat  JeiU5  Christ  Him- 
self did. 

Oh!    how    a    soul    pleases    God    when    she 


THE     PURITY     OF     LOVE  637 

says:  "My  God,  I  know  that  Thou  art 
goodness  itself.  I  shall  receive  in  the  same 
manner  consolations  and  desolations,  and 
because,  coming  from  Thee,  the  tiial  can 
be  only  a  favor  of  Thy  bounty,  I  shall 
receive  it  with  thanksgiving!"  This  is  per- 
fect indifference.  One  does  not  even  look 
at  the  thing.  It  comes,  from  God !  Then 
desolation  becomes  consolation.  "  Thou  dost 
will  that,  O  my  God?  That  affords  Thee 
pleasure?  And  to  me  also! — That  does  not 
please  Thee,  Thou  dost  not  want  it?  Oh  I 
neither  do  I!  For  body  as  well  as  for  soul, 
nothing  but  what  Thou  dost  will.  I  will 
go  where  Thou  dost  wish,  I  will  remain 
wherever  Thou  placest  me  equally  joyous 
and    contented    with   all  I  " 

But  there  is  something  better  still.  It 
is  the  soul  that  says:  "My  God,  1  know 
that  what  pleases  Thee  most  is  renunciation 
sacrifice,  immolation  in  ihc  natural  and  in 
the  supernatural  order,  and  it  is  that  that 
I  choose!  Thou  wilt  not  be  displeased  if 
having  before  me  satisfaction  and  sacrifice, 
I    leave    tiic    first    and    take    the    second.     \ 


638  THE     PURITY     OF     LOVE 

do  SO  because  the  latter  having"  more  love^ 
pleases  Thee  more.  "  The  good  God  looks 
down  on  tliese  souls  with  complacency  He 
admires  them.  His  law  does  not  exact  this 
but  love  does,  and  God  is  happy  when 
you  act  thus. 

But  this  must  spring  from  the  spontaneit\- 
of  your  love,  for  God  leaves  yo.u  free.  He 
even  hides  Himself  m  order  to  allow  you 
to  choose.  No  exterior  sign  shows  you  which 
of  two  things  He  desires.  Then  one  consults 
his  own  heart,  saying  to  himself  "  Our  Lord 
has  testified  to  me  His  love  by  always 
choosing  sacrifice  and  suffering,  so  1  am 
going  to  do  the  same.  I  am  going  to  show 
the  good  God  that  I  love  Him  more  than 
He  rigorou  ly  demands  of  me.  What  have 
I  to  fear?  It  is  not  I  myself  that  I  am 
seeking,  for  what  I  am  going  to  embrace 
b  the  most  humiliating,  the  most  crucify- 
ing. "    Behold  love's  highest  flight! 

But  in  order  to  be  wise  and  prudent  in 
all  thai  we  are  saying,  keep  this  rule  When 
the  good  God  positively  places  you  in  some 
grace,    do    not    look    for    another.    Remain 


THE     PURITY     OF     LOVE  639 

in  it  as  long  as  He  manifests  to  you  His 
will.  What  He  wills  is  the  most  perfect 
for  you,  even  if  it  be  not  the;  most  perfect 
in  itself.  Perform  it  just  as  well  as  you 
can.  Be  satisfied  with  following  the  attraction 
of  grace  that  He  gives  you  for  the  moment. 
Perfection  is  in  the  state  God  shows  to 
each  one  as  his  own. 

It  is  true  that  the  sublimity  of  love  is 
always  to  divine  what  is  the  most  pleasing 
to  the  good  God.  As  long  as  you  are  not 
guided  by  some  law  or  some  positive  grace, 
consult  His  love,  follow  His  inspiration,  and 
thus  you  will  always  walk  in  love,  and  that 
is    necessary  1 

But  no  pleasure,  no  satisfaction  out  of  God. 
That  is  the  keen  sense  of  justice.  Secondly, 
every  satisfaction  that  He  grants  me,  I  shall 
return  to  Him  through  gratitude.  Lastly, 
complete  indifference  between  joy  and  pain 
and,  in  the  liberty  of  choice,  I  shall  always 
choose  through  love  what  He  has  chosen 
for  me,  the  most  painful,  the  most  crucify- 
ing, and  the  most  humiliating.  Behold  the 
degrees  and  the  laws  of  the  purity  of  love! 


^^^3:fe  ss*  ^5^226  ^3^3^  ^sss  sa^!*  "i&jK  SJ&^  *i&.^ 


^     PATIENCE  and  HUMILITY. 


;f^Q;UR  Lord  bore  ia  Him  two  states,  a 
i^^l  state  of  g]ory  and  a  state  of  humilia- 
tion Possessing  in  Himself  glory  and  Di 
vinlty,  the  beatitude  of  the  soul.  He  kept 
within  Him  the  rays  and  the  joys  of  that 
state,  and  allowed  His  sensitive  soul  to  be 
enveloped  by  huniiliation,  fear,  suffering,  and 
all  the  weaknesses  of  humanity,  sin  on'y 
excepted. 

Something  analogous  takes  place  in  us. 
We  have  one  side  very  beautiful,  very  noble 
very  admirable.  God's  grace,  His  virtues, 
even  His  sanctity,  are  in  us  The  Holy  Spirit, 
Jesus  Christ,  and  the  Holy  Trinity  dwell 
in  us.  God  is  in  us,  and  we  are  m  Hini. 
That  is  ver>'  beautiful  and,  in  the  eyes  of 
the  angels,  it  must  be  a  ravishing  spectacle. 
We  have  our  dignities,  and  they  are  the 
foundation  of  our  hope.  But  we  cannot 
enjoy  them,  for  they  arc  veiled  from  us, 
they  are  invisible.  They  are  the  spectacle 
that    God    reserves    for    Himself   in   us. 

But.    on    the    contrary,    we    have    a    visible 


PATIENCE    AND    HUMILITY  641 

side  that  He  leaves  to  us.  It  is-  the  per- 
sonal side,  it  is  that  which  is  from  our- 
selves in  us.  This  vitiated  nature  of  Adam, 
our  passions,  our. infirmities,  our  defects,  our 
miseries,  actual  sin,  is  what  Sauit  Paul  calls 
in  one  word,  the  flesh  of  sin,  caro  peccali, 
and  again,  simply  peccatum,  sin.  that  is,  all 
that  comes  from  sin  and  disposes  thereto, 
though  even  that  would  not  be  sin  of  itself. 
All  that  part  of  us  is  visible  and  very 
sensible.  It  envelops  us  on  all  sides,  and 
is  very  humiliating. 

Why  has  God  thus  invested  us  with  the 
humiliation  of  our  nature,  instead  of  allowing 
the  grandeur  of  His  grace  to  appear  in 
us?  Why  does  He  will  that  we  should  feel 
much  more  in  ourselves  the  son  of  Adam, 
the  sinner,  than  the  son  of  God  regenerated 
in  Jesus  Christ? 

We  answer  in  one  single  word,  which 
comprehends  all — in  order  to  keep  us  in 
humility  by  humiliation.  The  good  God 
knows  that  we  are  so  borne  to  pride,  so 
prone  to  be  content  with  ourselves  through 
self-love,    and    to    exhibit    ourselves    for    the 


642  PATIENCE    AND    HUMILITY 

admiration  of  others  that,  in  order  to  save 
us  and  to  safeguard  His  grace  in  us,  He 
15  obhged  to  leave  us  in  the  slime  of  hu 
miMntion.  and  our  own  miseries,  and  not 
in    the   glory   and   honor   of    His   service 

Hence,  results  something  that  we  can 
scarcely  credit  although  it  is  very  true,  and 
that  IS.  the  more  graces  God  bestows,  the 
more  He  abases.  The  more  saintly  a  man 
is,  the  more  he  is  humbled;  the  more  he  is 
elevated  on  one  side,  the  deeper  he  is  sunk 
in  the  mire  on  the  other. 

Why?  Because  ihat  keeps  us  in  humility, 
and  humility  is  the  characteristic  of  Our 
Lord,  which  He  loves  to  find  in  us,  and 
by    which    alone    we   can   please    Him. 

And  so  we  might  say  that  a  lit^de  saint 
IS  little  humbled,  that  a  great  saint  is 
greatly  humbled,  and  that  the  very  great 
saint  has  to  be  the  anathema  of  the  world, 
the  object  of  all  kinds  of  Jiumiliations  and 
maledictions.  Who  was  ever  humiliated  'as 
was  Our  Lord  Jesu=;  Christ,  the  Holy  of 
Holies? 

That  is  the  condition      Like  Hun  we  musi: 


PATIENCE    AND    HUMILITY  643 

climb  up  to  Calvary  by  passing  through  the 
Sanhedrim,  through  the  prsetorium  of  all 
those  humiliations  which  reduced  Him  to 
greater  contempt  than  a  worm  of  the  earth, 
and  through  the  malediction  of  men.  We 
are  affrighted  when  we  read  the  Lives  of  the 
great  saints,  at  seeing  through  what  they 
have  passed,  how  the  world  maltreated  them, 
how  they  were  judged  and  calumniated.  It 
was  necessary.  The  Cross  is  the  way  of 
holiness;  its  characteristic,  its  nourishment, 
its  surety   is   humiliation. 

If  the  saints  were  elevated,  exalted,  it 
was  but  for  some  moments.  By  how  many 
years  of  humiliations  did  they  pay  for  those 
short  moments  of  glory  I  We  count  their 
miracles,  their  ecstasies,  the  consolations  and 
wonders  of  their  ministry;  but  who  can 
number  up  their  humiliations,  as  well  on 
the  part   of   God   as.  on   that   of   men? 

If  we  knew  our  own  merits,  if  we  suc- 
ceeded and  could  see  our  success,  we  should 
rejoice  in  it.  But  this  is  not  the  time  for 
rest.  In  such  enjoyment,  pride  finds  its 
contentment,  and  so  the  good  God  humbles 


644  PATIENCE    AND    HUMILITY 

US.  He  places  under  our  eyes  ordy  our 
sins,  our  defects,  our  failures,  all  that  can 
lower  us  in  our  own  esteem,  in  order  to 
keep  us  little  and  poor.  Then  we  acknowl- 
edge our  weakness,  we  pray,  we  have  re- 
course to  God,  recognizing  tliat  we  are 
nothing  and  that  He  is  all,  like  Saint  Paul 
who.  after  having  labored  so  much,  feared 
to  see  himself  a  castaway,  and  cried  out : 
"I  have  done  nothing!"  His  love  counted 
as  nothing  all  his  labor  compared  with  what 
he  would  have  wished  to  have  done  for  Our 
Lord. 

Ah,  Weill  even  if  you  have  always  been 
pious,  even  if  you  hiive  always  served  Our 
Lord,  1  would  say  to  you:  You  have  done 
nothing.    See    what    you   should   have    done! 

Let  us  go  down,  then,  into  what  we  are, 
into  our  weakness,  in  order  to  experience 
the  need  we  have  of  God.  The  more  one 
feels  liis  misery,  the  more  he  recurs  to 
God.  He  calls  Jesus  Christ  to  his  aid,  he 
unites  himself  to  Him,  he  comprehends  that 
if  he  is  alone  he  will  he  lost.  How  struggle 
against  ihe  demon,  against  the  passions,  how 


PATIENCE    AND    HUMILITY  645 

above  all  rise  from  his  falls  without  Jesu-; 
Christ?  He  calls  Him,  and.  He  is  there. 
Then  he  is  not  discouraged.  If  you  become 
discouraged,  it  is  because  you  are  proud, 
you  support  yourself  on  yourself.  Seeing 
that  you  will  not  be  able  to  hold  on,  in- 
stead of  acknowledging  it  courageously  and 
humbling  yourself  simply,  you  prefer  to  give 
up  all  in  advance,  and  thus  escape  the 
shame  of  having  labored  unsuccessfully.  That 
is   pride. 

However,  Our  Lord  is  there.  He  offers 
you  His  grace  and  His  strength,  but  on 
one  condition,  and  that  is,  that  you  rec- 
ognize that  you  can  do  nothing  without 
it,  and  that  you  humbly  and  earnestly  ask 
for  it. 

The  humble  sentiment  of  our  own  weakness 
produces  conlidence.  You  are  discouraged 
only  because  you  have  not  confidence  m 
Our  Lord.  You  do  not  acknowledge  that 
without  Him  you  can  do  nothing,  and  you 
forget  that  you  can  do  all  things  in  Him 
who    strengthens    you. 

When     you     have    done    badly,    say    with 


646  PATIENCE    AND    HUMILITY 

certainty:  "It  is  because  I  haye  confided 
in  myself.  '*  Do  not  add  pride  to  pride  by 
becoming  discouraged.  We  are  naturally 
presumptuous.  We  constantly  try  to  slip 
away  from  the  good  God.  But  no,  go  with 
Him;    for    you    will    fall    if    you    walk    alone 

/ou  commit  few  positive  sins,  I  hope, 
because  you  sincerely  love  Oiir  Lord.  But 
how  many  negative  sins,  I-  mean  actions  full 
of  self-love,  deceit,  jealousy,  sensuality,  sloth, 
in  fine,  all  the  capital  sins,  though  in  a 
degree  venial  or  imperfect!  And  all  this  is 
because  you  lean  upon  self  You  fall  into 
these  faults  only  because  you  do  not  suffi- 
ciently look  up  to  God. 

If  you  have  the  habitual  sentiment  of  your 
own  weakness,  you  will  never  expose  your- 
self to  temptation.  In  presence  of  a  sacrifice 
to  be  made,  an  occasion  to  flee,  you  %vill 
turn  instantly  to  God:  "My  God,  give  me 
Thy  grace,  humility  to  support  this  humilia 
tion,  patience  with  that-  character,  Thy 
strength  and  Thy  grace  for  everything,  for 
I   feel  my  weakness. 

Oh.    how    God    loves    lo    hear    that    from 


PATIENCE    AND    HUMILITY  647 

lis!  How  quickly  He  flies  to  our  aid!  It 
is  a  joy  tor  'Him  to  help  us!  Our  strength 
lies  in  the  fact  that  God  sees  us  all  the  time, 
in  union  with  Him,  and  in  the  help  of 
the    Lord. 

Humility  endues  you  with  the  strength  of 
God,  and  it  is,  moreover,  the  means  of 
your  sanctity.  There  is  no  saint  here  below 
who  can  rest,  saying :  "  I  have  reached  the 
degree  to  which  God  calls  me.  "  No,  neither 
in  the  virtues  nor  in  love  does  that  ever 
come  to  pass.  To  possess  a  virtue  in  its 
perfection?  That  is  to  resemble  Jesus  Christ 
perfectly,  and  do  you  think  yourself  there? 
If  any  one  would  say  that  to  you,  he  would 
be  mocking  you.  You  have  only  some  shreds 
of  virtue,  and  do  you  think  yourself  perfect 
in  love?  No!  You  are  climbing  the  moun- 
tain of  perfection,  but  you  are  not  yet  at 
its  summit. 

Where,  then,  is  your  sanctity,  if  it  is  neither 
in  your  works,  nor  in  your  virtues,  Yior 
in  yoiir  love?  In  the  patience  to  acquire 
it,  little  by  little;  to  labor  incessantly  and 
perseveringly,  humbly  and  patiently  at  cloth- 


648  PATIENCE    AND    HUMILITY 

mg-  yourself  with  the  Wrtucs  of  Our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ.  All  the  labor  of  sanctity  lies 
in  pati-ence  to  acquire  it. 

To  sanctify  self  is  to  form  Jesus  Christ 
111  self.  That  shapeless  block  of  rough,  hard 
stone,  which  is  yourself,  must  be  wrought 
upon.  To  chisel  it,  polish  it,  bring  it  in 
some  degree  to  resemble  the  model,  is  not 
the  affair  of  a  day.  Observation,  study,  labor 
are  necessary.  It  has  to  be  demolished,  cut, 
repaired,  and  reconstructed.  It  is  the  work 
of  a  %vhole  lifetime,  and  so  patience  is 
needed.  And  what  is  this  patience?  It  is 
confidence    in    God    and    diffidence    in    self 

We  must  confide  in  God  in  everything  and 
in  spite  of  everything!  Pic  wills  that  you 
should  be  iii  humiliation,  that  you  should 
not  succeed?  Remain  there.  Advance  as  He 
wills  you  to  advance.  Confide  and  abandon 
yourself  entirely  to  Him.  Count  no  more 
on   yourself   in  iinything"  whatsoever 

You  frequently  blaze  up  and,  taking  a  good 
resolution,  you  say:  '*  I  want  to  love  God 
well,  "  and  you  go  on  with  the  assurance 
of    walking    a    long    time    without    pausing. 


PATIENCE    AND    HUMILITY  649 

But     whatl    behold     a    frightful    temptation 
ag-ainst    faith,    charity,    chastity    assails    you. 
You   repulse    it,    but    it    returns    with    greater 
violence.    What     is     to    be    done?     Humble 
yourself,  and,  be  patient.     If  you  cast  yourself 
into  the  thick  of  the  fight   you  help  to  keep 
it  up,  and  you  will  become  discouraged  be- 
fore -  conquering.    But   turn  away   from   self, 
abandon  yourself  to  God;  acknowledge  that, 
in  spite  of  your  good  desires,  you  are  capable 
of  nothing,  and  you  will  triumph  by  patience. 
Humble  yourself  and  say  to  God:  "  My  God, 
Thou    dost    will    that    I    should   be   humbled 
by    the    evil    one,    ah,    well,    may    Thy    will 
be   done!     But    assist    me    if    Thou    wilt    not 
deliver  me,    that   at   least    I    may   not   offend 
Thcc.     I    am    willing    to    live    in    the    midst 
of    demons,    provided    that,    with    Thy    holy 
grace,    I    do   not    offend   Thee!" 

Such  a  state  is  a  martyrdom  of  the  love 
of  God.  See  how  God  is  magnified  in  the 
patience  of  His.  servants!  Nothing  renders 
so  much  glory  to  God  as  the  miserable 
.man  who  offers  to  Him  his  misery  and  who 
perseveres    in   loving    Him   in   the   midst    of 


650  PATIENCE    AND    HUMILITY 

temptation.  The  more  he  lowers  himself,  the 
more  he  elevates  and  glorifies  God.  God 
IS  elevated  in  proportion  to  the  depths  to 
which  man  lowers  himself. 

Love  patience  in  such  states.  When  God 
sends  temptations,  they  will  remain,  whatever 
you  may  do,  until  He  withdraws  them. 
Patiently  humble  yourself,  and  you  will  spare 
yourself  much  annoyance  and  headache!  If 
one  so  tempted  merely  struggles,  resists  vio- 
lently, he  forms  the  habit  of  becoming  irrita- 
ble, and  the  character  and  the  heart  grow 
impatient  and  choleric.  If  he  could  tear  out 
his  soul,  he  would  do  so  in  order  to 
irze  himself  from  that  fire  which  devours 
him,  from  those  thorns  that  pierce  him. 
What  is  he  to  do?  Ah!  remain  on  his 
dunghill  with  the  holy  man  Job  as  long 
as  the  good  God  wills  him  to  do  so! 

Oh!  the  beautiful  moral  lesson  God  gives 
us  in  these  words:  "  Remember  to  bring  forth 
fruit  in  patience  "  The  Apostles  would  have 
wished  to  conquer  Judea  and  the  whole 
world  in  a  day.  They  were  so  persuaded 
of  their  Master's  power  that  they  could  not 


PATIENCE    AND    HUMILITY  651 

think  any  one  would  resist  them.  They 
thought  not  of  obstacles.  Look  at  Peter! 
Look  at  John  himself!  But  Our  Lord  said 
to  them:  "You  will  bring  forth  fruit  in 
patience.  "  He  was  the  first  to  die  without 
His  having  been  able  to  convert  either  Judea 
or  Jerusalem;  and  among  the  Apostles  them- 
selves, some  converted  very  few  infidels. 
Witness  Saint  James,  who  gained  to  Jesus 
Christ   only  seven  pagans  in  Spain! 

Ah!  patience  is  nothing  else  than  humiliiy 
in  practice.  Patience  consists  in  confidence 
in  God  and  the  humbling  of  self. 

I  say  to  you,  then,  in  your  pains,  in  your 
dryness,  in  your  weakness,  in  all  that  springs 
from  the  old  man,  and  in  all  kinds  ot  tiials, 
have  patience  even  with  God,  have  pity  on 
your   own   soul. 

Is  not  God  patience  itself  toward  souls, 
toward  you?  Does  He  bcconie  infuriated 
and  violently  dash  things  to  pieces?  No. 
He  awaits  the  fruit  of  His  seed  years 
and  years.  He  daily  does  the  little  that  our 
cooperation  permits  Him  to  do-  He  recom- 
mences what  our  faults  have  demolished.    He 


652  PATIENCE    AND     HUMILITY 

IS  the  grace  itself  of  patience  and  our  model. 

Do  not  measure  your  advancement  by  the 
progress  you  are  able  to  notice  m  yourself, 
oy  your  success  in  the  virtues,  but  by  pa- 
tience greater,  firmer,  sweeter,  and  more 
humble.  You  are  not  bound  to  know  so 
exactly    your   progress   and   your   gains. 

Our  Lord  never  so  much  glorified  His 
Father  as  in  His  failures  among  men,  and 
by  bearing  with  patience  the  imperfections, 
the  coarseness,  and  the  weakness  of  His 
Apostles;  by  His  patience  in  awaiting  the 
will  and  the  hour  of  His  Father  in  order  to 
act;  by  His  patience  in  succeeding  only  in 
the  measure  that  His  Father  willed  during  His 
public  life;  and  by  His  patience  in  His  Pass- 
ion,in  which  He  consented  to  go  through,  what 
would  naturally  annihilate   His  work  forever. 

Place  all  your  virtue,  then,  in  strengthenmg 
yourself  in  patience.  You  will  have  m  every- 
thing the  success  that  is  necessary  when  you 
shall  have  reached  the  point  of  being  hu- 
miliated. Your  virtue  is  to  be  laid  low,  like 
the  manure,  at  the  foot  of  the  tree.  Keep 
yourself   at   the   root   and    very   low,   and  not 


PATIENCE    AND    HUMILITY  653 

Upon  the  branches,  for  they  might  snap. 
It  is  in  humility  that  God  wants  .to  draw, 
you  to  Himself.  That  is  why  He  has  de- 
scended so  Icttv  and  annihilated  Himself,  that 
we  may  never  be  elevated  so  near  to  Him 
as  when  we  shall  have  sunk  lower  in  the 
humiliations  in  which  He  maintains  us  and 
awaits  us. 

The  greatest  saints  are  truly  persuaded  that 
they  are  only  great  sinners,  and  they  say 
it  as  they  think  it.  Some  look  upon  this 
expression  as  exaggerated.  They  cannot  be- 
lieve it,  they  say.  And  yet  the  saints  are  really 
convinced  that  they  are  the  greatest  sinner 
before  God,  because  they  have  true  humility 
and  patience,  which  are  the  means  of  know- 
ing one's  misery  in  its  Very  depths. 

Again,  we  must  have  patience  in  prayer. 
We  pray,  and  we  want  to  .be  heard  favorably 
on  the  instant!  We  ask  something,  and  that 
alone  we  want.  God,  on  the  contrary,  is 
pleased  to  make  us  vvait,  or  to  grant  us 
some  other  favor.  He  tries  us  in  this  way 
continually.  We  ask  for  fervor,  for  love,  and 
He  leaves  us  in  stupidity  of  heart  and  deso- 


654  PATIENCE    AND    HUMILITY 

latiorL  We  ask  for  light,  and  He  plunges 
us  in  darkness.  We  ask  for  sentiment,  and 
He  leaves  us  in  aridity  It  seems  to  us 
that  it  would  be  much  better  if  we  were 
burning  with  the  love  of  God  and  zeal  for 
His  glory.  The  good  God  judges  otherwise, 
and  esteems  Himself  more  glorified  by  our 
patience  and  humiliation.  Think  as  He  does. 
He  knows  better  than  you  the  means  that 
will  be  for  His  glory,  therefore  accept  what 
He  sends  you.  Then  the  soul  is  satisfied 
in  whatever  state  God  keeps  her.  She  is 
always    contented   with    the    good    God. 

We  ought  to  ask  simply  the  grace  and 
the  virtues  that  are  necessary  for  us,  and 
mcessantly  say  to  God :  "  Speak  I  What  dost 
Thou  wish  me  to  do  to  please  Thee?" 
Very  frequently  God  will  make  no  answer, 
but  leave  us  in  doubt.  That  is  to  make  us 
mcrease  in  patience  and  humility,  which  are 
far  better  than  the  most  beautiful  actions. 
It  is  God's  way,  His  method  to  lead  to 
holy  love,  to  true  sanctity.  In  patience,  the 
soul  finds  the  exercise  of  all  the  virtues 
Love  God  by  patience  and  you  will  be  meek. 


PATIENCE    AND    HUMILITY  655 

humble,  and  charitable.  We  cannot  be  pa- 
tient with  God  without  being  so  with  per- 
sons and  events. 

By  patience,  you  will  love  God  more  than 
His  gifts,  for  He  changes  not.  He  is  al- 
ways as  lovable  when  He  tries  as  when 
He  consoles,  and  it  is  He  whom  we  must 
love  above  all  His  gifts.  If  you  are  not 
patient,  you  will  never  be  interior  souls,  holy 
-souls,    no,    not    even   virtuous   souls. 

Nature  is  slow.  They  who  cultivate  it 
know  how  to  wait.  God  is  slower  still.  He 
goes  slowly  about  all  that  He  does,  in 
order  to  conquer  our  pride,  the  confidence 
and  assurance  we  have  in  ourselves  and  in 
our  own  way  of  doing  things,  also  to  render 
us  dependent  on  His  grace,  His  guidance, 
and  Himself.  Sanctity  consists  not  in  the 
fervor  of  love,  but  in  patience  to  labor 
without  fervor  and  to  bear  with  the  delays 
of  God. 

He  wills  to  grant  to  some  the  grace  of 
prayer,  of  contemplation.  He  begins  by 
plunging  the  soul  into  a  great  temptation 
to    terror,    either   at    the    sight    of    her    own 


656  PATIENCE    AND    HUMILITY 

sins,  or  by  that  of  the  hell  which  she  de- 
serves, and  this  in  order  to  increase  her 
patience,  humility,  and  trust  in  God.  If  wc 
wfere  attentive,  we  should  hear  Our  Lord 
continually  saying  to  us :  "  Wait,  wait,  and 
pray!"  Always  patience!  Patience  renders 
every  work  perfect. 

During  this  life,  wc  cultivate  the  seed  of 
the  glory  of  God,  of  oiir  own  sanctity 
and  eternal  happiness.  All  these  heavenly 
plants,  instead  of  germinating  and  rising 
above  the  ground,  ought  to  strike  downward 
It  is  low  down  that  are  found  the  atmosphere 
and  the  sunbeams  necessary  for  then^.  If 
they  push  up  by  our  side,  the  air  and  the 
sun  of  the  world  weaken  them  and  make 
them  die.  Then,  labor  low  down  in  patience, 
humility,  and  poverty  These  virtues  arc  the 
throne  of  God  in  us,  and  they  assure  to 
us    His    throne   of   glory    in    heaven 


c^^-X]>^-^$>4. 


CONFIDENCE  and  REPOSE 


in  GOD  ALONE. 


Kf 


OUR  heart  ought  to  be  satisfied  with 
the  good  God,  for  He  has  been  so 
good  to  you  during  thig  Retreat,  He  has 
granted  you  so  many  precious  graces.  He 
has  shown  you  not  only  the  truth  of  holiness, 
but  also  the  truth  of  His  love  for  you.  It 
is  much  to  know  the  truth  of  God,  His 
grace  and  His  rights,  but  to  know  His  love 
for  us,  that  He  does  love  us  and  how  much 
He  loves  us,  i?  the  knowledge  of  rapture! 
At  this  sight,  you  have  said:  "I,  too,  will 
love  God,  greatly,  generously,  purely.  His 
love  shall  be  my  life  and  my  law.  It  shall 
be  my  law  of  mortification  and  purity.  Still 
more,  that  love  shall  be  the  law  of  my 
transformation  into  God  in  the  deification 
of  my  love,  for  I  no  longer  wish  to  live 
of  myself  Jesus  will  live  in  me.  I  shall 
be  His  human  nature,  a  member  of  His 
Body,  and  He  shall  be  my  personality,  my 
living  principle. 


658  CONFIDENCE  IN  GOD  ALONE 

\ : 

You  are  aspiring  very  high!  But  that  is 
right.  God  predestines-  us  not  only  to  be 
called,  but  to  be  in  very  truth  His  children, 
sons  of  God,  according  to  the  words  of 
Saint  John.  This  is  the  grace  given  to  all. 
With  how  much  greater  reason  to  you  whom 
He  has  called  to  this  contemplative  voca- 
tion which  among  all  others  holds  the  first 
rank,  which  is  the  better  part,  as  Our  Lord 
Himself  saidl 

You  are,  moreover,  contemplatives  and  ado- 
ratrices,  that  is,  you  live  in  more  constant 
relation,  a  relation  closer,  more  intimate  with 
Our  Lord.  Your  life  is  passed  under  His 
eyes,  in  His  sanctuary.  It  is  entirely  made 
up  of  family  relations  with  Him.  It  is  a 
domestic  service  toward  His  Divine  Person. 
Ah,  if  you  love  Him  only  as  do  the  people 
in  the  world,  how  unworthy  you  will  be  of 
this  sublime  vocationl  You  ough^  to  be  like 
the  candle  that  burns,  but  without  diminish- 
ing, and  burns  ever  more  purely. 

Love,  then,  live  of  love  and  of  the  gift 
of  yourselves.  If  you  receive  much,  He  will 
<lemand     much     of     you.    Expect     a    severe 


CONFIDENCE  IN  GOD  ALONE  659 

judgment  at  the  end  of  your  life.  Our  Lord 
will  ask  an  account  of  so  many  graces;  not 
one  must  remain  sterile.  Arid  if  to  the  so 
great  love  that  He  has  for  you,  you  have 
not  responded;  if  His  graces,  sown  in  you 
with  such  profusion,  have  not  produced  fruit, 
they  will  cry  for  vengeance.  Expect  a  ter- 
rible purgatory.  If  you  do  not  love  Our 
Lord  purely,  you  will  be  cruelly  punished 
since  He  has  loved  you  so  much.  Behold 
your  graces,  also^  but  see  at  the  same  time 
the  responsibility  they  impose  upon  you.  You 
say:  "I  want  to  do  well,  but  I  am  afraid. 
I  dare  not  promise  myself  to  persevere,  I  dare 
not  trust  in  myself,  knowing  my  own  weak- 
ness. " 

Oh!  do  not  let  that  arrest  you!  It  is  very 
happy  for  you  that  you  do  not  dare  to  confide 
in  yourself;  but  upon  what  will  you  rest  in 
order  to  be  very  faithful?  Here  it  is.  It 
is  the  subject  of  this  meditation.  Lay  firmly 
the  foundation,  the  reason  of  your  hope, 
your  support,  your  strength,  your  confidence 
in  God  alone,  and  not  in  se  f  nor  in  creatures, 
even   did  you   think   them  saints  and  human 


660  CONFIDENCE  IN   GOD  ALONE 

angels.  In  your  Superiors  even,  and,  in  all 
whom  God  has  given  you  for  your  guidance 
seek  only  Our  Lord,  and  make  Him  the 
absolute  foundation  of  your  trust  in  them. 
If  you  depend  on  any  creature  whatsoever 
you  depend  upon  a  reed,  a  straw. 

Look  not  for  the  proof  of  your  virtue 
in  the  esteem  of  the  creature,  not  even, 
perhaps,  in  that  of  a  confess'or,  of  a  Superior. 
That  is,  at  any  rate,  subject  to  illusion,  to 
self-seeking,  and  to  self-love. 

The  greatest  temptation  that  can  obscure 
the  .  purity  of  love,  is  the  appearance  of 
holiness.  People  love  saints,  men  and  wornen 
They  want  to  see  them,  to  speak  to  them 
to  receive  from  them  some  mark  of  sanctity 
They  think  they  have  it  ready-made,  since 
ihey  rouse  their  esteem 

God  places  you  in  relation  with  one  of 
His  saints.  It  is  a  grace.  Use  it  fauhfully 
as  long  as  He  permits  you,  but  do  not 
rest  m  it.  On  the  contrary,  make  use  of 
that  saint  in  order  to  place  more  confidence 
m  God  .alone.  If  you  should  place  too  much 
confidence   in   him.   your   confidence  in   God 


CONFIDENCE  IN   GOD  ALONE  661 

diminishes.  It  will  no  longer  be  so  refined 
but  shared  between  God  and  the  creature. 
God  is  the  loser  there,  for  you  are  preferring 
a  creature  to  Him!  Whenever  you  put  your 
trust  in  a  creature,  were  he  an  angel  on 
earth,  you  lose  sight  of  the  Creator.  I  do 
not  say  it  is  a  sin,  but  it  may  tarnish  the 
gold    of   charity.  

The  good  God  makes  use  for  souls,  for 
the  souls  of  His  children,  of  tutors,  of 
angels-Raphael.  They  are  meant  to  sustain 
you  in  your  weakness  to  lead  you  by  the 
right  road  of  obedience.  Draw  great  profit 
from  their  help.  Love  and  cherish  them 
but  love  still  more  the  God  who  gives  them 
to  you,  place  your  trust  in  Him  alone,  and 
let  Him  be  your  end. 

God  alone  judges  souls,  and  it  would  be 
an  error  to  think  yourself  holy,  because  you 
may  be  favorably  considered  by  His  saints. 
Never  say:  "The  good  God  loves  me,  I 
am  sure  of.  it,  and  I  may  be  at  peace  since 
His  saints  love  me.  "  To  build  upon  anything 
like  that,  is  to  expose  yourself  to  self 
deception.    It  is  to  rest  in  the  creature,  and 


662  CONFIDENCE  IN  GOD  ALONE 

you  will  see  that  God  will  be  jealous  of  it. 
He  desires  to  possess  all  alone  our  whole 
confidence.  He  desires  that  nothing  should 
come  between  your  heart  and  Him,  for  that 
would    paralyze    His    action    and    His    glory. 

"But  he  is  a  sainl,  an  angel!" — Doubtless, 
but  he  is  a  creature  still.  He  is  a  vase 
that  may  be  shattered.  He  is  subject  to 
misery  God  will,  perhaps,  permit  you  no  long- 
er to  find  in  him  what  you  seek  too  eagerly. 
He  will  have  no  more  light  for  your  soul, 
his  devotedness  will  diminish,  he  will  change; 
lastly,  he  will  become  for  you  a  trial,  perhaps 
a   temptation,   and   a   very   painful   one. 

What,  then,  is  to  be  done?  Place  youi 
confidence  in  God  alone,  above  all  men, 
all  saints,  all  angels,  and  say:  "What;  I  find 
not  in  them,  God  wants  to  give  me  Himself.  ' 

When  we  really  make  use  of  a  saint  only 
to  go  to  God,  when  our  confidence,  our  eyes, 
and  heart  are  steadily  fixed  on  God  alone, 
nothing  could  be  more  just.  We  walk  freely 
and  independently  But  when  we  repose  in. 
the  creature,  we  are  disquieted  and  troubled. 
It    is   a   mixture   that   casts   a    mist    over   the 


CONFIDENCE  IN  GOD  ALONE  663 

eyes,   mud    under   the   feet.     All   is   spoiled. 

Like  every  one  else,  you  have  experienced 
it.  There  is  nothing  that  causes  so  much 
suffering  as  to  see  a  good,  pious  person  not 
sufficiently   supernatural. 

You  glory  in  being  the  friend  of  a  saint, 
in  being  directed  by  a  man.  who  passes  for 
such,  and  you  put  all  your  confidence  in 
that  But  suddenly,  u'hether  it  is  that  he 
reprimands  you  or  abandons  you,  you  think 
all  lost,  you  torment  yourself,  you  despair. 
All  that  comes  not  from  God. 

Let  it  not  be  so  with  you  who  live  in 
so  intimate  relations  with  Our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ.  Accustom  yourself  in  presence  of  the 
sun  to  forget  the  stars,  and  ever  to  place 
the  Master  before  the  servants. 

Our  Lord  attaches  much  importance  to 
this,  that  the  blossom,  the  first  movement 
of  your  confidence  should  be  for  Him. 
When  you  h^ave  been  too  natural,  even  in 
the  smallest  trouble,  instead  of  recurring 
to  Him,  you  have  run  to  His  servants,  asking 
from  creatures  what  they  have  not  and 
cannot  give.    But  should  He  give  it  to  them 


664  CONFIDENCE  IN   GOD  ALONE 


for  you,  wait  till  your  next  Adoration  to 
seek  and  call  Our  Lord  in  vain  He  will 
answer:  "Since  I  do  not  deserve  your  con 
fidence,  go,  find  your  saint.  I  have  nothing 
to  say  to  you.  "  Divine  Love  is  susceptible 
jealous,  and  avenges  your  indelicate  forget 
fulness  by  silence  Our  Lord  is  jealous  of 
the  heart  that  has  given  itself  to  Him  and 
that  He  has  accepted,  giving  Himself  in 
return.  Why  offer  this  injury  to  your  Spouse, 
by  having  more  confidence  in  His  servants 
than  in  Him? 

You  have  certainly  experienced  it  When, 
at  the  feet  of  Our  Lord,  your  soul  is  power 
less  to  say  anything  to  Him,  when  in  glacial 
coldness,  say  unhesitatingly.  "1  am  expiating 
my  thoughtless  conduct.  I  have  gone  too 
quickly  and  too  naturally  to  those  whom  Our 
Lord  has  given  me  for  my  guidance.  I  have 
put    the    servant    before    the    Master  I" 

Place  your  confidence,  then,  in  Our  Lord 
alone.  Go  to  Him  for  grace.  Why  expect 
grace  from  a  creature  who  gives  it  not -* 
Grace  comes  from  Our  Lord  alone,  who 
imparts    it   only   to   those   that   address   them 


CONFIDENCE  IN  GOD  ALONE  665 

selves    to    Him   with    confidence,    and     who 
receive    it    in   the    state    of    innocence. 

Be,  then,  refined  on  this  point.  Give  your 
whole  heart  to  your  Master.  Why  have  you 
not  absolute  confidence  ?  Since  He  has  called 
you  to  this  vocation  of  adoratrices,  it  is 
in  order  to  live  with  Him;  hence,  you  have 
a  particular  grace,  the  grace  of  state,  as 
it  were,  to  approach  Him  freely  and  to  live 
with  Him.  Be,  then,  all  to  Our  Lord  for  Hi? 
own  sake,  and  to  Jesus  for  Jesus  with  Mary, 
Go  to  His  saints,  but  in  order  that  they 
may  lead  you  to  Him.  Go  to  the  saints 
of  Jesus  for  Jesus. 

He  confides  you  to  a  direction  which  you 
ought  to  obey,  but  there  remains  a  life  of 
the  soul,  of  prayer,  and  of  love.  Our  Lord 
wants  to  be  the  Master  Himself.  Your  soul 
is  in  the  care  of  Jesus.  No  one  knows  as 
well  as  He  the  secret  of  what  is  best  for  it. 
In  virtue  of  your  vocation,  you  give  to 
Jesus  your  personality.  It  is  that,  in  all 
things,  He  may  guide  and  direct  you  Him- 
self; and  if  you  have  entered  into  your 
grace,    you   will    know    how   to    go    to    Him 

The  Divine  Eucharist. 


666  CONFIDENCE  IN   GOD  ALONE 

and  to  be  contented  only  in  Him,  for  every 
vocation  renders  the  duty  it  imposes  easy 
and  sympathetic.  Have  confidence  in  your 
grace,  and  be  sure  that  Our  Lord  has  pre- 
pared it  in  advance,  and  that  it  is  waiting 
for  you  before  Adoration,  before  the  duty, 
before  the  sacrifice.  It  is  your  right  founded 
on  His  love  and  His  call.  Know,  then,  that 
He  is  in  you,  ready  to  hear  you  and  to 
guide  you.  But  ask  it  of  Him.  Address 
yourself   to   Him   and    confide   in   Him. 

Have  confidence  in  His  love.  Our  Lord 
loves  you  with  an  unchanging  love,  an  infinite 
love,  a  Eucharistic  love,  with  a  love  of 
vocation,  and  m  all  that  appertains  to  this 
love   He  can   refuse   you    nothing. 

If  ^ou  love  purely,  as  is  your  duty  and 
your  grace,  and  address  yourself  to  Our  Lord 
in  all  your  needs,  saying:  "  Aly  God,  my 
Lord,  I  ask  for  Thy  love,  for  this  grace, 
only  to  serve  Thee  better,  not  for  myself, 
but  for  Thee,  O  my  only  Master, "  Our 
Lord,  touched  at  seeing  that  you  desire 
Him  alone  and  His  best;  service,  can  refuse 
you  nothing. 


CONFIDENCE  IN  GOD  ALONE  667 

You  give  Him  pleasure  by  praying  in  this 
manner.  You  glorify  Him,  and  you  please 
the  Heavenly  Father,  who  has  said:  "This  is 
My  beloved  Son,  in  whom  I  am  well  pleased. 
Hear  HimI  " 

And  the  greater  your  love,  the  greater  your 
confidence,  and  the  greater  your  power  over 
the  Heart  of  God.  Our  Lord  is  there.  He 
is  going  to  knock  before  entering.  Do  not 
wait  for  that.  Go  on  before  Him.  Forestall 
Him  by  your  confidence.  These  are  the 
true  relations  of  love! 

Accustom  yourselves  to  act  in  this  way. 
The  more  you  practise  confidence,  the  more 
your  confidence  will  increase,  for  every 
habit  is  increased  and  rendered  easy  by  its 
acts.  The  more  sacrifices  you  make,  the 
more  pleasing  does  sacrifice  become  to  you. 
You  add  a  grace  to  the  grace  that  you 
alteady  possess.  Graces  thus  joined  one  to 
another  form'  a  chain  that  nothing  can  break, 
a  bond  of  love  that  can  never  be  severed. 

Then  with  Saint  Paul  say :  "  I  can  do 
all  in  Him  who  strengtheneth  me. "  Then 
you   will   love  to   do   great   things   by   love. 


668  CONFIDENCE  IN  GOD  ALONE 

for  Saint  Paul  says  elsewhere:  "  The  love  of 
God  presses  me,  torments  me,,  sets  me  on 
fire.  '*  He  seems  to  say  that  love  is  a 
press.  Ah,  yes!  for  understand  it  well,  love 
tries  us,  presses  us  all  entire  in  order  to 
make  us  enter  into  Jesus,  as  the  millstone 
crushes  and  mingles  together  several  kinds 
of  grain,  and  expresses  from  them  but  one 
liquor. 

Have  confidence  in  Jesus  even  in  your 
discouragement,  when  your  body  or  mind 
is  reduced  to  weakness,  and  refuses  to  serve 
you.  Then  say:  "I  confide  not  in  myself, 
but  in  Thee,  O  my  God!  I  can  do  all  in 
Thee  if  Thou  wilt  help  me.  I  have  nothing, 
I  can  do  almost  nothing,  but  I  am  going 
to  begin,  and  Thou  wilt  finish  1  "  Then  begin. 
Do  the  little  that  you  can.  The  good  God 
will   take   upon   Himself   the  rest. 

The  good  God  is  pleased  to  multiply  dif- 
ficulties. He  brings  to  a  halt.  He  nails 
down  in  impotence.  Souls  wish  to  act,  but 
they  cannot.  It  is  agony.  "  No,  never  can 
I  mount  up  to  God!  "  But  you  are  makinkg 
a   step   by   praying,    by   calling.    God   comes 


CONFIDENCE  IN   GOD  ALONE  669 

then.  He  gives  you  the  wings  of  love,  and 
soon  you  are  astonished  at  your  flight  into 
liberty  and  grace. 

Go  on,  Our  Lord  is  yours  I  Go  to  Him 
with  confidence.  Exercise  yourself  in  con- 
fidence. Always  have  confidence  in  Him  and 
diffidence  in  self.  This  is  what  I  desire  for 
you  now  and  ever. 


^ 


CONTENTS. 


Br 

Letter  of  the  Archbishop  of  Chambery     ...  iv 
Approbation  of  His  Eminence  James  Cardinal 

Gibbons vi 

Preface  to  the  French  Edition viii 

RETREAT 

PREACHED  TO  THE  MEMBER^  0«3:HE  CONGREGATION 
OF  THE  BROTHERS  OF  ST.  VINCENT  DE  PAUL. 

Foreword 2 

The  Grace  of  a  Retreat  for  Religious  ....  5 

The  Service  of  God 18 

The  Religious  State 25 

Prayer,  Its  Necessity  and  Character    ....  33 

Prayer,  the  Gift  of  Our  Intellect     .....  44 

Prayer,  the  Gift  of  Our  Heart 56 

Prayer,  the  Gift  of  the  Will 62 

Does  God  Love  Me  ? 77 

Do  I  Love  God  ? .  87 

Pardoning  Love 93 

The  Eucharist,  the  Principle  of  the  Sanctifica- 

tion  of  the  Religious 103 

Jesus  in  the  Eucharist,  the  Model  of  the  Three 

Vows     .     .     .     .• 112 

Humility li5 

Meekness .  136 

The  Rule,  the  Sanctification  of  the'  Religious    .  T46 

Sermon  on  the  Profession  of  the  Vows     .     .     .  159 


CONTENTS  671 


RETREAT 

PREACHED  TO  THE  RELIGIOUS    OF   THE   SOCIETY  OF 
THE  MOST  BLESSED  SACRAMENT- 

Foreword 173 

End  of  the  Rfetreat,  Self-purification  ....  178 

Benefits  of  the  Religious  Life          195 

The  Eucharistic  Vocation     .           205 

The  Renunciation  of  All  Ownership   ....  226 

Sin,  the  Injury  Done  to  God     ......  239 

The  Effects  of  Venial  Sin 251 

Our  Lord's  Expiation  of  Sin 264 

Hell 281 

The  Mercy  of  Jesus.     . 291 

The  Family  of  the  Most  Blessed  Sacrament      .  304 

Love,  the  Principle  of  the  Spiritual  Combat     .  321 

The  Spirit  of  Penance 333 

The  Mortification  of  the  Senses 342 

The  Gift  of  Self. 359 

Everything  Ought  to  be  Done  Well    ....  374 

Sanctity  by  the  Rule 382 

Prayer,  the  Means  of  Our  Sanctification  .     .     .  394 

Fraternal  Charity 405 

Simplicity 416 

The  Earnestness  of  Life 426 

Fruits  and  Resolutions  of  the  Retreat      .     .     .  437 


672  CONTENTS 


RETREAT 

PREACHED  TO  THE  SERVANTS  OF  THE  MOST 
BLESSED  SACRAMENT. 

Foreword 451 

Conversion  Is  Always  Necessary 456 

"the  Eternal  Love  of  God 462 

Conference  on  Direction 467 

God  Has  Created  Us  for  Heaven   .....  477 

Heaven  Is  Given  Only  to  Purity  of  Heart    .     .  486 

Conference  on  the  Examens 495 

We  Must  Live  of  the  Mercy  of  God    ....  508 

The  Virginal  Love  of  Jesus  .......  516 

Conference  on  Confession      .     .    • 528 

The  Gift  of  One'  s  Personality  to  Jesus    .     .     .  542 

Jesus  and  Mary,  Models  of  the  Gift  of  Self  .     .  552 

The  Interior  Education  of  an  Adoratrice      .     .  575 

The  Spirit  of  the  Vows  and  of  the  Gift  of  Self  .  584 
The  Virtue  of  the  Gift  of  Self :  The  Humility  of 

Love 600 

The  Supernatural  Life      ........  61 1 

The  Purity  of  Love      .......'.  621 

Patience  and  Humility .  640 

Confidence  and  Repose  in  God  Alone      .     .     .  657 


THE  LAST  SUPPER 
TaJce  ye  and  eat;    this  is  my  body.     Take  ye 
this  is  my  blood." 
(St.  Matthew  xxvi,  26,  ?7) 


and  drink; 


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THE  DISCIPLES  OF  EMMAUS 

"He  took  bread,  blessed  it.  brake  it  and  gave 

it    unto    them.      Then    only    were    their 

eyes    opened    and   they   knew    Him. 

-  (St.  Luke  xxiv,  30) 


